"Heaven Sent"
I learned something interesting and profound this week. We were discussing in my Book of Mormon class Christ's title the "Lord of the Outstretched Arms." This image of Christ shows so much of His character. It helps us to see His mercy and love, the love that drove Him to give the greatest sacrifice in the history and future of man. Christ's love and sacrifice are so beyond our mortal comprehension. Yet, oftentimes we hide from Him and His (and our) Father. We fall short so often and are painfully aware of our own mistakes and shortcomings. We can only imagine what a perfect and perfectly just God would think of us and how He will respond.
My professor wisely pointed out that he feels this is just one of the reasons why he felt Christ came as a baby born in a lowly manger. If you have ever held a baby, especially a newborn, you have felt that sense of peace that comes with them. The special spirit that surrounds a little one that has just come into the world. It is hard to describe those feelings, it truly is a pure and sacred experience. This is how Christ came, a pure and special little baby to a new mom.
I love the songs "Mary, Did You Know?" and "What Child is This?" I have little nephews and nieces (who I love to pieces) and it is so hard to play with and hold them and think this little guy (or girl) will grow up. What will they do? How will their lives go? They will live a life just as we are living our lives. I cannot imagine how Mary must have felt holding her new little baby boy. She must have had some idea of who He would become and what He would do, but there is no way that she totally understood. It is hard to comprehend a child growing up to become the Christ and it is hard to imagine our Savior as a child, but that is how He came.
It is amazing to ponder that the God of the Old Testament, the Great Jehovah, came as a little child. He is someone that we never need to hide from, nor should we ever want to hide from Him, we should run to Him. When we are hurt or when we cause hurt, He is the one that can heal. How grateful I am for a just AND merciful God. I'm grateful for a God who loves me enough to teach me and to mold me into who I need to become. I am grateful for commandments and for a God who teaches me that they are not optional, a God who is not easy on me, but a God that helps me to change into someone better than I was yesterday and hopefully someone who is better tomorrow than I am today. I am also grateful for a God who doesn't just see and judge actions, but a God that sees the desires of the heart. A God who knows what we truly want, even we struggle. Just as an earthly father, who teaches me how to be a good man and a good father by word and example, I have a God who teaches me that I may one day be able to become as He, if I but listen to Him and follow His example.
In an ever-changing world where anything is prone to go well or fall through, a world where we can never fully rely on anything, I'm grateful for the One that is never changing. I'm grateful for One that I can run to, One that never gives bad advice, One that is ever loving, even when I don't deserve it. I'm grateful for a merciful God. The God I worship is one of mercy. The Lord of the Outstretched Arms, ever waiting for me to just come unto Him. This time of year, I am grateful for Him, the way that He came to this earth, the way that He left it, and the way that He returned, never to fully leave ever again. Christ lives, He was born from a Heavenly Father and an earthly mother, God's only begotten Son.
I am grateful for the words of Helaman to his sons, found in Helaman chapter 5.
"And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall (verse 5)."
Build your foundation on Christ and on nothing else. When things seem bleak, when things aren't looking up, and when things fall through, rely on Him who never falls short. Sometimes things seem impossible and we don't understand how they could ever get better, just remember, that our God is a God of miracles. The Christ who walked the streets of Jerusalem, who healed the sick, who made the blind see and the lame walk, who healed broken hearts, that same Christ is the One who we look to today. In the words of a favorite hymn, "Be still, my soul: The waves and winds still know His voice who ruled them while he dwelt below (Be Still My Soul)."
Sometime this season, find time to just be still. I went to the temple today and just took a moment afterward to sit on the bench out front (yes, it was freezing) and ponder on what I just did and on the God who made the beautiful valley I was able to look out over. Take time to just be with Him sometime this season, the One that we celebrate this time of year, you won't regret it.
My professor wisely pointed out that he feels this is just one of the reasons why he felt Christ came as a baby born in a lowly manger. If you have ever held a baby, especially a newborn, you have felt that sense of peace that comes with them. The special spirit that surrounds a little one that has just come into the world. It is hard to describe those feelings, it truly is a pure and sacred experience. This is how Christ came, a pure and special little baby to a new mom.
It is amazing to ponder that the God of the Old Testament, the Great Jehovah, came as a little child. He is someone that we never need to hide from, nor should we ever want to hide from Him, we should run to Him. When we are hurt or when we cause hurt, He is the one that can heal. How grateful I am for a just AND merciful God. I'm grateful for a God who loves me enough to teach me and to mold me into who I need to become. I am grateful for commandments and for a God who teaches me that they are not optional, a God who is not easy on me, but a God that helps me to change into someone better than I was yesterday and hopefully someone who is better tomorrow than I am today. I am also grateful for a God who doesn't just see and judge actions, but a God that sees the desires of the heart. A God who knows what we truly want, even we struggle. Just as an earthly father, who teaches me how to be a good man and a good father by word and example, I have a God who teaches me that I may one day be able to become as He, if I but listen to Him and follow His example.
In an ever-changing world where anything is prone to go well or fall through, a world where we can never fully rely on anything, I'm grateful for the One that is never changing. I'm grateful for One that I can run to, One that never gives bad advice, One that is ever loving, even when I don't deserve it. I'm grateful for a merciful God. The God I worship is one of mercy. The Lord of the Outstretched Arms, ever waiting for me to just come unto Him. This time of year, I am grateful for Him, the way that He came to this earth, the way that He left it, and the way that He returned, never to fully leave ever again. Christ lives, He was born from a Heavenly Father and an earthly mother, God's only begotten Son.
I am grateful for the words of Helaman to his sons, found in Helaman chapter 5.
"And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall (verse 5)."
Build your foundation on Christ and on nothing else. When things seem bleak, when things aren't looking up, and when things fall through, rely on Him who never falls short. Sometimes things seem impossible and we don't understand how they could ever get better, just remember, that our God is a God of miracles. The Christ who walked the streets of Jerusalem, who healed the sick, who made the blind see and the lame walk, who healed broken hearts, that same Christ is the One who we look to today. In the words of a favorite hymn, "Be still, my soul: The waves and winds still know His voice who ruled them while he dwelt below (Be Still My Soul)."Sometime this season, find time to just be still. I went to the temple today and just took a moment afterward to sit on the bench out front (yes, it was freezing) and ponder on what I just did and on the God who made the beautiful valley I was able to look out over. Take time to just be with Him sometime this season, the One that we celebrate this time of year, you won't regret it.
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