He has made Him known!!

Good morning, Ladies!

Well, its that time of year again. Everywhere I turn there are bunnies and pastel colored eggs. Yep, its almost Easter. I have to admit, when Easter falls later in the year as it does this year, I get cynical. The bunnies and eggs begin to appear the day after Valentine's and practically explode after St. Patrick's! So, by the time Easter finally gets here, it takes A LOT to remind me of its TRUE meaning.   

This year, I realized something. I have been over simplifying the whole "thing". That "thing" being the birth, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus THE Christ. And I realized that by focusing mostly on the Sacrificial portion of Jesus' ministry, I am missing a CRUCIAL element. If God had simply required/desired a "sacrificial atonement" (as I often find myself thinking around this time) then the significance of Jesus' ministry is lost. Jesus could have simply come and been "sacrificed" as all other atonement sacrifices. Thus making me acceptable to God by my reliance on said Sacrifice. But Jesus wasn't just crucified; He did not just come to die. One of His main "missions" was to show me God! Not only did God send Jesus to provide a way for us to become acceptable to Him; He sent Jesus to show us God himself! God desires for us to know Him! Does this give goose bumps to anyone but me? My reading this morning took me to John 1:16-18 (NIV):

6 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known. 

The Message:

We all live off his generous bounty, gift after gift after gift. We got the basics from Moses, and then this exuberant giving and receiving, This endless knowing and understanding—all this came through Jesus, the Messiah. No one has ever seen God, not so much as a glimpse. This one-of-a-kind God-Expression, who exists at the very heart of the Father, has made him plain as day.

Praise God!! These verses remind me that this God we serve is extremely personal. So personal that He sent his Son to come and die so that we could have a relationship with him. And as if that were not enough He spent a portion of his time with us. Speaking God's words. Showing us God's heart. So that we would know that "we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Hebrews 4:15-16 NIV)

So, my prayer for us today is this: That during this time of Lent, leading up to Good Friday and Easter, we would not miss this crucial element of the story. Christ came to be sacrificed, yes. But just as important is the fact that He came to make God known to us!! What a truly amazing thing He has done for us!

Loving you all today!

Sandy


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