Jesus, AND....

I heard a woman speak not long ago about our insatiable need for more. More ANYTHING. Our desire for more usually leads to our less attractive moments in life. We don't get what we want, or we don't get something just the way we want it. So we pout, have a fit, allow tempers to flare, give someone a piece of our mind, quit, go silent, storm out, lash out, cut people off--you name it. Our bad behaviors, in other words, always stem from our desire for more--especially more of our own way.

Because we've all exhibited the above behaviors at some point, we have offended God who is characterized by perfect love. Like any wayward and disobedient child, we deserve our heavenly Father's just anger and correction, but who can withstand the anger of an eternal God? Still, if He really is perfect love, He can't exactly wink at our sins and sweep them under the rug. So...what to do? Enter Jesus. Our Father God, in a wisdom we will never understand, reasoned something like this: I will step in and take the judgment that my children deserve on myself. I will send my Son to be one of them, and He will bear their penalty and serve their sentence.

If that was all that God ever did for me, would it have been enough? Colossians tells us that the Father "delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love." That alone is pretty huge.

But there's more. We are told that the fullness of God dwells in Christ and--get this--Christ dwells in us.

Wow. That should make us pause.

Beyond the cross, as if that weren't enough, our lavishly generous God fill us with himself. We are complete. He is enough. He is all. We need nothing more, no matter what we are called to do.

In the next few weeks, I hope we all begin to learn what a difference this truth makes in our daily lives. Join us.