Life Happens
So life...it happens. So what happens when you begin to see a situation you've been in for a large portion of your life in a different way? To a smaller extent, it could mean something like the group of friends you hang out with...realizing that you're looking for something different, perhaps something deeper or more genuine. Or maybe you've been doing random part-time jobs for most of your life and you're finally able to see that you're ready for a real, stable job and, maybe more than that, that you recognize the importance of being more financially responsible with the money you earn, no matter where it comes from, in preparation for the future as well as to be wise with your current situation (like paying for college with the least amount of debt in the end as possible!).
I feel like, as I'm growing up, I am becoming more aware of who I am as a person, my value as a child of God, what is important to me, what should be important to me, and the types of things I hope to do with my life as long as God allows me to be here.
No matter where we have grown up, what things we have done, what people we have met and been in relationship with, etc., we all have things that push us to succeed and challenge us to be the person God has created us to be. Yet, with sin in the world, we all mess up and we all fail to see situations for what they are and we fail to be the person God wants us to be because our sinful nature affects how we think, what we see, what we feel, what we say, what we do, or the lack thereof. I know I fail in these areas constantly and sometimes my sinful nature blinds me to my own wrong-doing.
However, I am thankful for the grace of God given through Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit that is offered to me and to anyone else who asks for it. Without that, we would be doomed to eternal failure with no chance of redemption. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23). It's a hard, cold fact. But thankfully the story doesn't end there, for in v.24, Paul says we are "justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."
So yeah, life happens...the stuff of life happens to us and because of us, whether we like it or not...but we can have hope of full redemption through Jesus Christ. These words from Revelation 21 give me such comfort and hope:
"...the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."
I feel like, as I'm growing up, I am becoming more aware of who I am as a person, my value as a child of God, what is important to me, what should be important to me, and the types of things I hope to do with my life as long as God allows me to be here.
No matter where we have grown up, what things we have done, what people we have met and been in relationship with, etc., we all have things that push us to succeed and challenge us to be the person God has created us to be. Yet, with sin in the world, we all mess up and we all fail to see situations for what they are and we fail to be the person God wants us to be because our sinful nature affects how we think, what we see, what we feel, what we say, what we do, or the lack thereof. I know I fail in these areas constantly and sometimes my sinful nature blinds me to my own wrong-doing.
However, I am thankful for the grace of God given through Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit that is offered to me and to anyone else who asks for it. Without that, we would be doomed to eternal failure with no chance of redemption. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23). It's a hard, cold fact. But thankfully the story doesn't end there, for in v.24, Paul says we are "justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."
So yeah, life happens...the stuff of life happens to us and because of us, whether we like it or not...but we can have hope of full redemption through Jesus Christ. These words from Revelation 21 give me such comfort and hope:
"...the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."
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on Saturday, August 19, 2006 at 9:58 AM.
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