Good morning…
“The key passage that I think we have to come to terms with is 1 Peter 2:23,” says Pastor John in yesterday’s powerful posted podcast. “When [Jesus] was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. And so my question for myself and for my friend, for anybody who finds himself like us: Is it enough for God to know our sorrow, for God to know our pain, for God to know our disappointment, our frustration? Can we hand our cause entirely over to God? Can we move forward treating others better than they treat us, even if it means only God knows and nobody else? That is how real God has to become to us.”
I am preparing my heart right now to serve a sacred communion to those who come to our Women’s Lenten Communion Service tonight. New insight dawns deeply. Jesus was only able to bear the weight of excruciating sorrow, to painfully die to the life that he loved, because he continued to entrust himself to the God who saw his pain, who knew his sorrows, and who miraculously raised eternal, abundant, resurrected life. For Jesus, knowing God fully as he was fully known by God, Oneness with God was more than enough. For grace is clearly at work when a person accepts undeserved pain and suffering and does so because he (or she) is mindful of God (1 Peter 2:19, VOICE).
As we prepare our own hearts to enter again the season of Lent, we are invited to ask ourselves, “As I endure my own painful cross, is it enough to continue entrusting my whole self to the grace of God?”
For now [in this time of imperfection] we see in a mirror dimly [a blurred reflection, a riddle, an enigma], but then [when the time of perfection comes we will see reality] face to face. Now I know in part [just in fragments], but then I will know fully, just as I have been fully known [by God] (1 Corinthians 13:12, AMP).
…Sue…
P.S. Photo courtesy of pixabay.com.
P.S.S. For those of you planning to join us from 6:30 to 8:00 pm tonight for our Women’s Lenten Communion Service at Northside Church (2799 Northside Dr NW, Atlanta, GA 30305), HERE is a map to our Music Suite.
