He Tore the Veil!!

Knowing something is not always really knowing it. Sometimes a truth I thought I knew strikes me again in a new way, "an aha moment", and then I think "oh I see now." Well, the more of them I have, the more I see there is to learn and understand.

Tonight I was musing on the actual pain of separation and distance between loved ones. It seems like I am always saying goodbye. So many of my loved ones are in so many different places in the world that I can't be with them all. And it makes me sad. Then I thought how at least we'd all be together in eternity and how that's what counts after all.

Wait a minute, we get to be together because of what Someone did for us. He endured the greatest separation of all. How truly painful!!!! The Father looking away from the Son. Perfect Love being severed. What a broken heart! Christ and God the Father demonstrate the greatest love, the greatest sacrifice that could ever be made. To be with the Father is supreme Joy and to be under his wrath, the worst humiliation. Christ's gift is so infinitely greater than we understand.

Jesus took all of our separation upon himself. And then he gives something new and wonderful in its place. he gives us ultimate community. Not only do we get to part of the Body of Christ, we get join in the very community of the Trinity. Jesus before he went on the cross prayed this very thing for us, that we might in Him and He in us even as the Father and the Son are one. His Spirit indwells our heart and brings us to Him and He will never let us go.

Our brokeness is being restored, our separation temporary. Knowing this gives me an excitement and a overflowing sense of being loved. This enables me to go on loving those around me, and those who are with me only in spirit. I am empty, he fills me up. He makes me whole!!

Longing to Belong

I don't know about you, but I think everybody wants to fit in. We have a desire to fit in, be at home somewhere. We want someone we can count on, we want to feel safe. A home to which to return when all the world seems upside down. A friend we can turn to when we are alone. A rock in the quicksand.
The sense of wanting to belong somewhere is universal to mankind. Women want someone that they can belong to, to be cared for and cherished. Men desire approval, vindication, and respect. We all want to be accepted.
I have been pondering this quite a bit lately as I move back into college life after being home for a month. Where do I belong? I love being with my family, but I can't live there forever. I love my friends and work at school, but it will be over in a couple of years. Which friends should I spend time with more? Where should I go to church? Will I ever have my own family? What should I do with my life? Where do I belong?
You see, each of us is restless at heart until we find our rest in Christ. Even then we still search for our place in this world. We do have a place in this world. But its is defined by our place in another world. Christ accepts us for who we are, us, not our sin. He chose us, his own, he predestined us from the beginning, died for us, and loves us. I am secure in the knowledge that whatever new curve life throws at me next, I am safe in God's plan, because I Belong to Him. We serve our King!
“Peace I leave with you, not as the world gives, give I unto you, Let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid.”~Jesus, John 14:27