…givng thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins…For it was teh Father’s good pleasure for all the fulness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of the cross…And althought you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through deal, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach…
Colossians 1: 12-13, 19-20, 21-22
I am such a visual learner.
I really need a picture bible, a picture dictionary, and a picture
commentary to go with the bible. If
someone can sketch it out for me (stick figures are fine), then I seem to understand meanings much better. Somehow it helps me
connect the dots that run from my head to my heart.
I really need a picture bible, a picture dictionary, and a picture
commentary to go with the bible. If
someone can sketch it out for me (stick figures are fine), then I seem to understand meanings much better. Somehow it helps me
connect the dots that run from my head to my heart.
With that said, I have a story that helps illustrate the
next “i am” from The I AM. Here goes;
and since it’s a true story, I can’t start with “once upon a time.”
next “i am” from The I AM. Here goes;
and since it’s a true story, I can’t start with “once upon a time.”
There lived a little
girl who loved God. She loved God so
much, she thought she wanted to grow up and serve him one day (so she
considered joining a convent). She also
loved church. She went almost every
Sunday, and especially loved the stories, the songs, and the crafts. One day, the little girl asked her Sunday
school teacher about the stories. “Are
all these stories you tell us from the bible really true?” she asked. The teacher replied, “Oh, no, honey. These stories are sort of like fables that
teach us lessons about life.” The little
girl pondered that answer. If the
stories like the ones about Adam and Eve, Abraham and Isaac, Noah and the Arc,
Moses and the Ten Commandments weren’t true, then were the stories about Jesus
real? Remembering her teacher’s words,
she decided they must not be. Yet, the
lesson about life that rang in her head like a little sing-song was this: Good-Enough.
The Bible was about being Good-Enough.
But, over the years, it got very tiresome trying to be Good-Enough. So, as the little girl grew, she decided she’d
had enough of Good-Enough, and she became Bad.
She knew she was Bad, because she wasn’t Good-Enough anymore. The God she’d learned to love felt very far
away. He was very Unattainable &
Far-Away. The more Unattainable he
seemed to be, the more Bad she grew. Of
course, the more Bad, the further away God seemed to be…………until one
day, she realized God was not only Unattainable, he was Invisible. And………… Little-Girl-Grown-Older was
very Sad. Very Sad, indeed. Sad and
Bad. OUCH!
girl who loved God. She loved God so
much, she thought she wanted to grow up and serve him one day (so she
considered joining a convent). She also
loved church. She went almost every
Sunday, and especially loved the stories, the songs, and the crafts. One day, the little girl asked her Sunday
school teacher about the stories. “Are
all these stories you tell us from the bible really true?” she asked. The teacher replied, “Oh, no, honey. These stories are sort of like fables that
teach us lessons about life.” The little
girl pondered that answer. If the
stories like the ones about Adam and Eve, Abraham and Isaac, Noah and the Arc,
Moses and the Ten Commandments weren’t true, then were the stories about Jesus
real? Remembering her teacher’s words,
she decided they must not be. Yet, the
lesson about life that rang in her head like a little sing-song was this: Good-Enough.
The Bible was about being Good-Enough.
But, over the years, it got very tiresome trying to be Good-Enough. So, as the little girl grew, she decided she’d
had enough of Good-Enough, and she became Bad.
She knew she was Bad, because she wasn’t Good-Enough anymore. The God she’d learned to love felt very far
away. He was very Unattainable &
Far-Away. The more Unattainable he
seemed to be, the more Bad she grew. Of
course, the more Bad, the further away God seemed to be…………until one
day, she realized God was not only Unattainable, he was Invisible. And………… Little-Girl-Grown-Older was
very Sad. Very Sad, indeed. Sad and
Bad. OUCH!
In reality, God had
never moved. He was still where he’d
always been. He’d always been on the
other side of a big canyon. No amount of
Good-Enough would help the little girl “attain” God. No matter how hard she tried, Bad was always
inside of her. On her own, she could
never cross the canyon that separated her from God. As long as she could see him, she thought he
might be reachable, but when Bad took over, she moved further and further away
from the edge of the canyon and could no longer see God. That’s when he became Invisible.
never moved. He was still where he’d
always been. He’d always been on the
other side of a big canyon. No amount of
Good-Enough would help the little girl “attain” God. No matter how hard she tried, Bad was always
inside of her. On her own, she could
never cross the canyon that separated her from God. As long as she could see him, she thought he
might be reachable, but when Bad took over, she moved further and further away
from the edge of the canyon and could no longer see God. That’s when he became Invisible.
One day,
Little-Girl-Grown-Older grew very discontent with her life. The further away from God, the darker her
world became. She despised Bad. She longed for something different. She wanted, no, needed some light. However, she was so lost, she couldn’t find
her way back to the edge of the canyon, where glimpses of light were seen. In her shame, lostness, and despair, she cried
out, “Help me!” That’s all the Lord God
was waiting for, and, when he heard her cry, he sent his Son who delivered her
from her domain of darkness and transferred her across the Chasm-Deep-and-Wide
right into the presence of God-the-Father.
The Beloved Son lay down his life, bridged the Chasm-Deep-and-Wide and
made a way for the Sad-Bad-Girl to become Little-Girl-Holy-and-Blameless. No longer Bad, she was beyond reproach…and reconciled to the Father.
Little-Girl-Grown-Older grew very discontent with her life. The further away from God, the darker her
world became. She despised Bad. She longed for something different. She wanted, no, needed some light. However, she was so lost, she couldn’t find
her way back to the edge of the canyon, where glimpses of light were seen. In her shame, lostness, and despair, she cried
out, “Help me!” That’s all the Lord God
was waiting for, and, when he heard her cry, he sent his Son who delivered her
from her domain of darkness and transferred her across the Chasm-Deep-and-Wide
right into the presence of God-the-Father.
The Beloved Son lay down his life, bridged the Chasm-Deep-and-Wide and
made a way for the Sad-Bad-Girl to become Little-Girl-Holy-and-Blameless. No longer Bad, she was beyond reproach…and reconciled to the Father.
That little girl was/is/will be Me. I am reconciled!
What a story, I have to tell! You, too?
What a story, I have to tell! You, too?
