Reflection is good for the soul- and with a cup of coffee it can't get any more refreshing, well maybe with a piece of chocolate cake it could be a little better... There are moments in life where I enjoy to sit, put music on, and write. It has been a long time since I sat down to write, to think, to reflect on things, but recently after a trip to the States there was something said that has come to mind repeatedly and I felt the need to write it down before I forgot which then caused a whole stream more of other thoughts so if you have the time and the desire to read my reflections, grab your cup of coffee and read on...
It all began in the midst of a sermon while the Preacher was giving an illustration of mercy, he told a story about a little child who was afraid of a thunder storm and she ran to her parent's room to crawl into their bed, her mother began to tell her that she didn't need to be afraid because Jesus was with her and the little girl replied, "I know but right now I need a Jesus with skin on..."
This is the thought that caused all that reflecting, because number one how much do I contemplate the fact of the incarnation of Christ. That Jesus was willing to humble himself and take upon the form, the flesh of man. That the Creator became as the creatures that He had created, the ones who were made to bring glory to him and yet had rejected Him, the ones who had gone astray as sheep and were turned to their own way. Yet, he became as man so that He could be oppressed, afflicted, to literally have all the wrath of a Holy God against sinful man poured out on himself, and for what purpose? That he would bear man's iniquities that many might be accounted righteous (Is. 53).
The next thought that comes, what does it mean to be a Jesus with skin on? This brought me to I Jn. 4 where we find a powerful passage on all that the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection accomplished for sinful man and showed to us the love of God. In the midst of this we are told- "no one has ever seen God" and then following directly after is the statement that "if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us." It is almost to say that by loving one another we get a glimpse of the God that no one has ever seen. Perhaps a little of the idea of being a Jesus with skin on...
Then in reading I Jn. 4, I was brought to further reflection as often happens as I'm thinking and writing... I was so touched by the strength that is found in verse 4 in the middle of a passage filled with warning, "Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world."
Yes my Father- we are children, we are your children. How powerful that we are justified in the blood of Jesus Christ and now am come from God when once we were a slave to the sin and deceitfulness in our heart. You said that we have overcome them and yet often we feel the opposite. How often is it that the feelings inside are seemingly more stronger than the opposition that comes from outside? The pangs of jealousy when you view other's lives that seem easier than yours and you call out to God and ask him why can't he do this for you? why couldn't you have followed in the ordinary? why can't you rest in what you think is security? and then you struggle and war against the feelings you know are wrong and ask God to give you the faith to believe and the ears to hear His Word.
Then in His time- the Grand Weaver, the infinite and sovereign one gives you a glimpse of what He knew all along and you simply couldn't see in that moment. And now you fall to your knees weeping in gratitude because you catch a glimpse of how the Weaver was protecting you from the very thing that you had wanted, that thing that you would've put your trust in if you could have- but He was weaving that thread out of your life and now in sincere humility you weep at the feet of Jesus because He is far greater than the heart within us.
