There's Just Something About That Name

As I was reading through some posts on Facebook, I came across one in which the author said, "I just love saying the name of Jesus!" As I read that, my heart was touched, and I started to wonder how long it had been since I felt that way myself. I remember the power and assurance and faith that just saying His name evoked in me. Nothing was impossible and no fear too threatening and no night too dark. There is power in His name, and how easily I have allowed myself to be burdened with the challenges of life and have forgotten that power.

I began to sing, "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, there's just something about that name. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, like the fragrance after the rain. Kings and kingdoms will all pass away, but there's something about that Name." I felt His calming peace come over me again as my anxieties drained away. So simple, so easy, so peaceful. There is something about His name!

Thank You, Jesus, for being the Name above all names!

The Problem with Truth

I used to think that truth could only be truth if it were the same for everyone. And, of course, the truth I knew was the truth! In fact, a pastor once said, "In order for truth to be truth, it must be true for all people in all places at all times." When I heard those words, I thought them profound and began to repeat them in any situation that challenged what I knew to be truth. It felt comforting and further settled me into my established line of reasoning.

Then I found out that there are over 3,000 Christian sects in the world . . . all claiming to have the truth!! And that doesn't even include the Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims or any other flavor of religion!! What a shocker!!!! How could all of these people, sincere, seekers of God, wanting to follow the truth, all come up with different truths, all claiming to hear from God??

Just recently it occurred to me that God isn't showing the same truth to everyone. Wow!! What is that about? It would be sooooooo much easier on all of us if He did.

So, now what? I must follow what I know as truth until God reveals something else. Further, I must also allow that He is showing others something else as true. What a challenge that is! I'm so used to insisting that I'm right! (What an opportunity to love others!)

This is my bottom line - God is Who He says He is; He is love personified; He keeps His promises; He has a good future planned for all of us; He never fails or gives up. I could add more, but you get the idea. The rest I just have to give to Him and let Him sort it out.

By the way, I've been sprinkled and dunked, just in case!

Love

I'm a "johnny-come-lately" for some of the dramatic series that are available on TV, and one of my recent enjoyments is reruns of Grey's Anatomy. If you've not seen the program, it's your typical medical drama that seems to focus more on the personal relationships between the doctors than anything medical going on. Last night was an exception to the rule. One of the vignettes focused on a man and woman, unrelated, one black, male and older, one white, female and younger. The two had been in a train wreck and were impaled on a pole facing each other. Both were conscious and in no pain, amazingly. As the story unfolds, the doctors discover that, of the two, the male has a much better chance of survival. Once the pole is removed, the female will bleed out too quickly to save, and she is more seriously injured.

The two patients begin to interact with each other as the doctors do their assessments. They are in a hugging position in order to keep the pole from shifting and doing more harm. As the doctors tell them the bad news, both of them begin to plead for the other's life, not for their own. The female winds up comforting the man when the reality of the situation is finally accepted. She will die and he will live. Later, just before the man and woman are put under anesthesia, she leaves a message with the head surgeon to relay to her husband when he arrives. She knows that she will be gone before he gets there. The surgeon tells the husband later, "She wanted you to know that, if love were enough, she would be here with you now."

I almost sobbed through the show. I was so touched by the complete selflessness of this woman. Her concerns were for the man attached to her on the pole, and her husband. She expressed no regrets for herself, and pleaded for her fellow victim. She knew this man for minutes and hours, not days, weeks or years. She gave without thinking and thought only for the comfort of her husband and this man in front of her. What an incredible example of the love of God! Selfless love. Self-sacrificing love. Not ooey-gooey emotions - just the rubber hitting the road.

I envy that kind of love. I envy the ability to give so freely - to give all - to sacrifice even though it cost everything. I over-analyze, and worry about consequences. I think too much about the cost. Few of us will ever be called to such a sacrifice as this woman made, or that Jesus made. I'm called to love the people that are in my life and that I encounter every day in my life. I get testy at other drivers and waiting in line, or things just aren't going the way that I want them to go.

Worse, I remember those whom I've failed to love - harsh words, uncaring deeds. My mother is a constant source of regret. She was mentally ill long before I was born. Life was hard growing up, and I focused far too much on how it affected me, and not nearly enough on how it affected her. Mental illness is a terrible burden to carry. There were five of us kids, and I know that she did the best that she could. It wasn't her fault that her love wasn't enough. She died almost 20 years ago, and all I can remember now is how she suffered with the burden she carried. I didn't know much about love then, but I do now. I have been the recipient of much self-sacrificing love. I cannot undo the past or re-write it. However, I am grateful beyond grateful that she is at peace now, and she knows love now too.