I SEE this phrase on many sales items. Clip boards,
stationery; clothes; cups not to mention cards. It has a certain ring to it; doesn’t it? I like it! Last Sunday my small family came together and shared our Easter dinner. We didn’t have the traditional meal of ham or lamb but instead we BBQ’d. I know; it rained in the morning but the sun came out. With jackets on, Jim and Danny prepared Petite Sirloins and Salmon steaks. It was a very good weekend from Good Friday through Easter Sunday. To live, love and laugh is what Easter is all about. I wouldn’t trade a Christian gathering for anything else in the world.
LET ME share my thoughts on what Christianity is all about. Many believe that being a Christian is all doom and gloom. Filled with sadness; worry and like a dripping faucet; continuous complexities of life. It is true, that the Christian experiences all the things that the world experiences. We go through wars and rumor’s of wars; we get fat or become anemic. We lose loved ones and also our hair. Our skin ages and we become prey to all kinds of diseases. Our bodies are just as frail and fragile as everyone else. But the Christian, has an edge!
JESUS CHRIST came as God in the flesh. Jesus was the Son of God but liked to be called the Son of man! Why do you suppose He liked to be called that? As a child I remember the pictures I would see of Jesus. He was depicted as somber; very serious; intent on His mission! In the 60's a man called Hook, painted pictures of Jesus with laughter in His eyes and a smile that caused you to smile back. His countenance was filled with life, love and laughter. These pictures changed the way we saw the Lord. We saw Him as the Son of man; filled with the spirit of God. We were created in God’s image; these pictures showed us how we can be like Christ!
WHAT DO YOU find interesting, when you think about Christ taking on the very nature of man; especially a servant man? Do you see yourself as a servant? Do you consider yourself a servant to your Boss or are you in the category of being an employee of distinction. The scriptures refers to those, as slaves. Jesus showed us how to serve one another; to care for one another and to hold one another up as better than yourself.
“LET EACH OF YOU, look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which you have in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant being born in the likeness of men. Philippians 2:4-7 Christ in human form was both God and man; two distinct natures united in one person. We do not understand the full implication of that, nor do we find it clearly defined in the scriptures. However, we hold Jesus up in faith, as the son of God and the son of man.
REMEMBER when Eric Liddel, the 400 meter runner in the 1924 Olympics, was questioned about how he ran? His reply; “When I run, I feel God’s pleasure.” Can we say that? Do we feel God’s pleasure as we sing praise and worship. Are we living, loving and laughing, perhaps aching, weeping and picking ourselves up again; while all the time feeling God’s pleasure? I have always looked at myself as a servant within the church. I feel my calling is to lift up and encourage the saints. I want to cry with them and laugh with them, and I want them to do the same for me.
I WANT to see things happen that create a continuous bond between us. Whether I am planning a function, leading a Bible Study or singing praise and worship with the body; I look for God’s pleasure and not my own. Paul says in verse 13 “For God is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. “Do all things without grumbling or questioning!” Philippians 2:14 The Christian life is not free; it was paid for with a huge price. It comes with sacrifice and responsibility. Jesus says; “Come; today is the day of salvation!” By Jane Ann Crenshaw 4/29/11
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2 comments:
LIVE--we have been gifted with life. We make the choice to LOVE daily, even moment by moment. As our Lord's LOVE was not given to a select few, our LOVE is to be expressed to all. I take Vernon as a good example, no matter where we go, he is reaching out to people. The waitress, the clerk, the flight attendant. I am more prone to think they are just doing their job but he treats them as a valued person. And LAUGH--he loves to make people laugh. He had a great time in the hospital reaching out to all his care-givers with the gift of laughter.
The bottom line--To LIVE is God's gift to us. Our gift to him is to LOVE all his children and choose to LAUGH with joy at every opportunity. Or, as Vernon does, make laughing opportunities.
Jane Ann, I certainly hope you are saving your posts somewhere else, other than on this blog. You are creating a wonderful legacy to be passed down through all generations, until Christ returns. What a legacy you are creating.
Ellen: How I wish I could be with you an Vernon like in the olds days. You both have taught me so much. At the time I didn't realize it but as I have grown older I can realize the lessons learned. Hope Vernon is doing well! Our prayers are with you both through the recovery periods.
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