I read Ephesians this morning. I have to say, I don't necessarily feel like I'm seated in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus right now. And yet, I sense that I am indeed being lavished with grace. The only thing that the enemy of our souls can do is to try to convince us that Jesus made a mistake when he died on the cross for you and me. God shows his own love for us in this: that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. I'm not even going to quote it; maybe sometimes we need to read it in plain words, as if it were spoken by a friend, because it is and has been.
I need the sacraments so badly. We had almost been in a habit of saying that we took them for granted, and then they were taken away. We found out that indeed we have taken them for granted. This quarantine stuff is getting to me. It's probably true that I don't like people that much, but this is a crazy level of isolation.
The most foundational reality is that God's generous attitude toward me, and all the rest of us, has not changed. Therefore, I more than likely need to change my attitude toward myself. There are certain people who are cavalier about life, and cavalier about sin. They don't need to hear about forgiving themselves. But some of us do.
I told the Lord the other day that I may pretend that I'm happy being a sinner, but I'm no more convincing than Peter was. He needed that restoration from Our Lord, as surely as he needed air. The grace we receive is a little more indirect than we had become used to, but it is very much available to us. If we desire something better for ourselves than we take in our worst moments, then we should ask God to deepen that desire. My supposed distance from the Lord may only be a feeling, just as fleeting and ephemeral as a mood.
Touch us and heal us, O Lord, your beloved lepers. We who are outside the camp will find you there, and there, go into the inner rooms of the heart of God.
I need the sacraments so badly. We had almost been in a habit of saying that we took them for granted, and then they were taken away. We found out that indeed we have taken them for granted. This quarantine stuff is getting to me. It's probably true that I don't like people that much, but this is a crazy level of isolation.
The most foundational reality is that God's generous attitude toward me, and all the rest of us, has not changed. Therefore, I more than likely need to change my attitude toward myself. There are certain people who are cavalier about life, and cavalier about sin. They don't need to hear about forgiving themselves. But some of us do.
I told the Lord the other day that I may pretend that I'm happy being a sinner, but I'm no more convincing than Peter was. He needed that restoration from Our Lord, as surely as he needed air. The grace we receive is a little more indirect than we had become used to, but it is very much available to us. If we desire something better for ourselves than we take in our worst moments, then we should ask God to deepen that desire. My supposed distance from the Lord may only be a feeling, just as fleeting and ephemeral as a mood.
Touch us and heal us, O Lord, your beloved lepers. We who are outside the camp will find you there, and there, go into the inner rooms of the heart of God.
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