Practice makes progress; Jesus makes perfect.

Last week, we reviewed how Jesus told Nicodemus that every man and woman must be born again (see John 3: 3-8). Now, this rebirth is not something that we have power to make happen ourselves. None of us can give birth to ourself.

And while “born again” as a term refers to a likeness of our physical birth into mortality, I believe that it alludes more specifically to our being born the second time spiritually. We are already our Father’s spirit children by birth before this earth life. He sired us. We were spiritual beings then, and relied on our spiritual senses to guide us. But by our coming to earth, receiving a veil of forgetfulness, and due to the effects of the Fall of Man, our spirits have fallen “asleep.” They don’t naturally see and feel, or communicate and do as they once did. Their magnificence and power have been forgotten, confined, and somewhat restricted to what these earthly bodies are capable of doing. But this is the way God wanted it. We have things to experience and learn here in this spiritually harsh environment that we could experience and learn in no other way. (And that’s a whole other topic for another day.)

So, being born again—meaning being born of God again—born spiritually again—is necessary for every one of us…but it is not accomplished in the same way. (We don’t enter again into the spiritual womb, so to speak.)

Therefore, even though we are already God’s spiritual offspring, because of the fact that we fell from the nobility of His eternal world and lost our spiritual connection with Him, we must become spiritually alive sons and daughters again. Each one of us must be spiritually awakened to a “newness of life” (Romans 6: 4), “quickened [or made alive] in the inner man” (Moses 6: 65). Each of our spirits—our inner self—having forgotten all, was now no longer “alive,” or spiritually awake—no longer steering the ship. We would each need to be roused from our spiritual slumber through this second birth.

And who has our Eternal Father chosen to be the doer of this great work in us? None other than the Lord, Jesus! Through His grace and the provisions of His atonement, we are blessed to eventually leave the ranks of natural men and women by becoming the spiritually awake children of Christ! Jesus, who is the only One commissioned of the Father to baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, also becomes the Spiritual Parent. We become His sons and daughters. (See Mosiah 5: 7.)

JESUS AS MOTHER
Now, it is pleasing to think of Jesus as being so personal as to be the Father of our individual rebirth…but, He is also the beautiful image of a mother.

“Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands” (Isaiah 49: 15-16; 1 Nephi 21: 15-16).

A woman who has given birth to her child by cesarean has a lifelong reminder of her baby—the scar on her abdomen. For, every time she notices the scar while showering, getting dressed, etc., she is reminded of her child. Likewise, Christ has reminders of us graven in the palms of His hands.

But obviously, a woman doesn’t need to give birth by cesarean, and have its accompanying scar in order to remember her babies. Her entire body is a receptacle of vivid memories due to the alterations it underwent during those nine months when she carried the child within her. Think of it: the surprise and discomfort of morning sickness; the stop of menstruation; the inconvenient need for frequent urination; the persistent expanding abdomen; the swollen ankles and feet; the strain in her lower back; the shortness of breath; the irritating heartburn; etc., all imprinting mental and physical reminders of the child’s approaching birth. And, what about the remarkable sensation of feeling another living human being move inside you? This is something a man will never experience and a woman will never forget. Then, the birth process itself: the breaking of waters; the emotional anticipation of what’s coming, along with the fear of the unknown (for, each birth can be different); the deep pressure and pain of the contractions; those fatiguing, arduous hours of labor; all culminating in the actual delivery, when the baby comes through the birth canal, crowns, and finally transitions out of its mother to breathe those first breaths. Can a woman really forget any of this? Perhaps the acuteness of the events will soften, just as any pain and difficulty are lessened with time. But she will remember, for it is all indelibly imprinted in her body. And the mother’s care for this child is certainly not over—it only continues to magnify: the persistent need to adequately nurture this completely dependent newborn; the ongoing fatigue due to being up at all hours of the day and night; the physical and emotional bond that occurs during breast feeding, as well as changing diapers, giving baths, etc. Can any woman really forget any of her children, when her own body that carried them is so presently her constant companion?

And so it is with our Savior. He doesn’t need scars in His hands and feet and side to remind Him of His carrying us. I would suggest that His scars are there for our benefit, to remind and assure us of what He did, and His unwavering commitment to each one of us.

Like a mother, He has so much more than scars to remind Him of His spiritual family. He has felt within His own body the twisting and turning of our struggling, writhing spirits; the profound contractions of our personal temptations, failures, humiliations, and disappointments; our exquisite pains and paralyzing sorrows; our suffocating sense of worthlessness, self-loathing, and despair; our repetitive guilt and shame, along with the septic toxicity of our anger, desire for revenge, and hardness of heart. His bowels have been filled with compassion for our loneliness, brokenness, robbed innocence, dashed hopes, and soul-crushing rejection and betrayal. He has felt it all moving within Him, and remembers it in perfection, all the days of our lives. He has carried it all while carrying us. And He will not ever—no never—forget!

And just as a mother, through the process of pregnancy, birth, and beyond, forges an eternal bond with her child, so Christ has forged one with us. And those among us who will take the time to consider and ponder it, will instinctively rejoice and spontaneously fulfill the prophetic word:

“And now…they shall mention the loving kindness of their Lord, and all that he has bestowed upon them according to his goodness…forever and ever. In all their afflictions he was afflicted. And…in his love, and in his pity, he redeemed them, and bore them, and carried them all the days of old” (D&C 133: 52-53).

(to be continued…)

Practice makes progress; Jesus makes perfect.

“Except a man be born again.…”

Have you ever questioned your understanding of what that really means? There are certainly different ways to look at the term “born again.” A lot of Christians think it refers to the day they felt saved, accepting Jesus as their personal Savior. And they’re right. A lot of Latter-day Saints think it means being baptized and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. And they’re right too.

Jesus said, “Ye must be born again” (John 3: 7). For those of us who believe that Jesus’ words matter, there of necessity comes a time in our lives when we have to ask ourselves if we have truly been born again. I have found myself wondering for quite a number of years if I had undergone this birth. I knew that I loved and accepted Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world, and more importantly, as the Savior of me. I had followed Him down into the waters of baptism, making a visible covenant before the world that I would take upon me His name, keep His gospel in my heart, and do my best to follow His teachings. Because of this outward expression of my faith, I was offered the gift of the Holy Ghost to assist me in keeping these promises. Since then, through the Spirit’s power, I have felt on many occasions that I have received a remission of my sins. But there’s the catch. I have had a continual need for a remission of sins, because, to be frank, I continue to sin. This is where my understanding of being spiritually reborn has been at odds. The very fact that I still possess thriving elements of a fallen nature has made me wonder if I am truly a new creature in Christ. For so long I have associated being born again with phrases like: “no more disposition to do evil,” “doing good continually,” and “the mighty change of heart.” I have thought: ‘If those are the results of rebirth, then I’m not there yet.’

Then, not long ago, something happened. Something clicked in my head. It’s hard to pinpoint how or when. Perhaps I just looked at all of this longer and harder than I had in the past, and I saw something that I had never seen before. Human birth is a process, but, it is also an event. Sure, there is a gestation period of months, and a woman carries the developing fetus in her womb, not wanting to deliver it too early, before the new body is fully formed and ready for life. Nor does she want to carry it any longer than is absolutely necessary. But then, finally, the day arrives and it happens. Someone is born. A human’s birth doesn’t last longer than that. It’s true that some mothers are in labor longer than others, and some births are much more difficult; some happen by natural means while others are performed cesarean. But the day comes when the child is no longer within the mother’s womb. And after one’s birth happens, it’s over. One doesn’t go through it again. No human is born that way twice. Nicodemus and other Jews of his day were familiar with the term of being “born anew,” and yet, when Jesus told him that he had to be reborn, he still asked: “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?” (John 3: 4). Nicodemus knew the answer to that second question before he asked it. It is, perhaps, the first question, which gives us the real insight into Nicodemus’ heart. I wonder if he was just as unsettled about being born again as I have been. Perhaps he was an older, worn out man, simply wishing that he could somehow be reborn, if he could only go back to the innocence of his childhood when he saw things with more faith and through less complicated eyes. (How many of us would like to start all over in some ways? How many times have I heard someone say that they wished they could be baptized over again and start with a fresh clean slate!)

Jesus told Nicodemus that unless someone was born again, they couldn’t see the kingdom of God. The word “see” in such a statement could be thought to mean “get to”—like someone saying to a long distance runner: ‘Unless you pace yourself, you won’t even see the finish line.’ I had read it that way before. It is, after all, the truth. But looking more closely at the original intent of the Greek word used in this chapter of the New Testament, “see” also means “perceive.” So, more accurately, it means, unless one is born again, he can’t even perceive or recognize the kingdom of God. It could be all around you and you might never know it’s there. And this is really the first step to being born again. No man will even begin to search for admittance into the heavenly kingdom unless he recognizes that such a kingdom exists. And no man will diligently pursue after Christ until He sees Christ as Someone who must be pursued at all costs.

If we want to see the kingdom of God and then enter into it, we must be born again. However, I now see that birth is an event, not a life long journey. As I said earlier, when we are born into this world, it happens on a day and then it’s over. But then and only then can we get down to the real business of living our lives. Am I born again? Yes! Am I a new creature in Christ, no longer ignorant that a better kingdom is available to me? Yes. Have the scales of spiritual darkness fallen from my eyes? Have I awoken unto God? Have I felt to sing the song of redeeming love? Yes. Yes. Yes! So, am I done? Nowhere close. Now it’s time to grow up. Now is where I learn to take one step forward and then another, to climb the ladder one rung at a time. Can I do this by myself? Not in a million years. Thankfully I have my Savior’s grace and the power of His magnificent Spirit to transform me, “unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Ephesians 4: 13). It will take all of this life and a great while into the life beyond. But I believe in its realization and yearn for it.

However, just because someone’s been born again, is all this additional transformation and marvelous growth inevitable? No, for “there is a possibility that man may fall from grace and depart from the living God; Therefore let the church take heed and pray always, lest they fall into temptation; Yea, and even let those who are sanctified take heed also” (D&C 20: 32-34). So, even if we’ve experienced an inner awakening and change of heart, if we have spiritually been born of God, if we have received His image in our countenances and have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, we must regularly ask ourselves: Can we feel so now, today? (Alma 5: 26). The Lord be praised for His cherished gift of repentance! (It’s a gift I’ve made great use of.)

And one day, when we’ve finished with what we can do here, we’ll move on, preparing to undergo an even greater change. But as Jesus said, it all must start with our being born again.

(to be continued…)

Practice makes progress; Jesus makes perfect.

We believe that through the grace of Jesus Christ, all mankind will be raised from the dead and enjoy the gift of complete immortality. We also believe that through the grace of Jesus Christ, all of us who will repent and exercise faith in Him will be saved from the punishment we deserve because of our sins. What mortal mind can fathom the exquisite benefits of these grace offerings?

As well, last week we talked about grace as being an “enabling power” generously offered to us because of Christ’s atonement. By our Savior’s grace, we are enabled, or given “strength and assistance to do good works” and “maintain” them, which would otherwise not be humanly possible if we were left to our own means! Do we understand what a gift this is? If we did, this blessing alone from the Lord Jesus would be sufficient reason for every one of us to sincerely rejoice and shout praises to His name for the rest of our lives! But there is more…for, these specific functions of grace are not the entire story.

While grace is an enabling power, it is also an ennobling power.

My friends, Susan Black (in Finding Christ Through the Book of Mormon, pp. 49-50), and Brad Wilcox (in The Continuous Atonement, pp. 112-113), both wrote about the song, “I Am a Child of God” and how the chorus was initially written to sing, “Teach me all that I must know to live with Him someday.” Then President Spencer W. Kimball suggested that the lyric be changed to “Teach me all that I must do…” since to merely know the Lord’s will is not enough to bring us back into His presence. Finally, both Susan and Brad fancied the possibility of an even more complete lyric: “Teach me all that I must be…”

Now, in the context of grace and all of the divinely appointed helps Jesus has made available to us, it makes sense that we can be taught to “know” what is required of each of us to live with God again. But to only be taught to “do” is surely not enough, as we have clearly stated. We must be strengthened and assisted to “do.” Likewise, to only be taught to “be” will never suffice for our exaltation. In order to “be” we must be changed into His likeness. If we need the Lord’s grace just to “do and maintain” good works, how much more of His grace do we require in order to “become” good?

So for me, these are the concepts of the power of our Savior’s grace in our mortal lives:

Teach me all that I must know – Enlighten/Inspire me.

Strengthen me in all that I must do – Enable me.

Change me into all that I must be – Ennoble me.

Christ, through His grace to us, strengthens us—enables us—to make changes to our behavior. But that does not change our nature, our character. Christ must also do that for us through endowments of His grace. With the Lord’s help, an alcoholic can avoid going to bars, liquor stores, parties, and functions where alcohol will be offered, and thereby alter and reduce the climate of temptation in his life. But that does not take the longing for drink out of his being. So it is with every addiction, habit, weakness, tendency, and temptation with which we are faced. We can avoid places, people, and things that might compromise our determination to remain “clean” but that does not uproot the addiction, or natural tendency from our person. That calls for a change of nature, a change in our actual make up. This is something Christ must do for us. In fact, Christ has done it for some. I have been told of several missionary experiences where a truth-seeker was being taught the restored gospel, and desired baptism, but struggled to quit drinking or smoking…until, after mighty prayer and fasting, they woke up one morning with the desire to drink or smoke completely gone from them. Christ gives us strength to change our behavior, but He alone changes our nature.

I rely completely upon my Savior for this kind of change. I cannot do it, and so He must!

Even as I write this, I suppose that there are still those in the Church who would feel the need to set me straight in my thinking—those who are anxious to correct me, and who would thoughtlessly rob from me my only hope for eternal life through a merciful Lord. These would tell me that unless I change myself, unless I figure out a way by my sheer will and determination, and self-mastery, to improve my character, I shall never reach the perfection I desire. They feel I lean too heavily upon grace—and the Lord’s giving nature—and don’t focus enough on doing my part in working out my own salvation with fear and trembling. But these do not know my heart; they do not know with what effort and for how many years I have tried to perfect myself while only continuing to fail miserably. I say to them (and I say to all), changing what we do is not the same as changing how we are.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks declared: “The Apostle Paul taught that the Lord’s teachings and teachers were given that we may all attain ‘the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ’ (Ephesians 4: 13). This process requires far more than acquiring knowledge. It is not even enough for us to be convinced of the gospel; we must act and think so that we are converted by it. In contrast to the institutions of the world, which teach us to know something, the gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to become something.…the Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts—what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts—what we have become. It is not enough for anyone just to go through the motions. The commandments, ordinances, and covenants of the gospel are not a list of deposits required to be made in some heavenly account. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what our Heavenly Father desires us to become” (“The Challenge to Become,” Ensign, November 2000, p. 32).

It is my conviction that endowments of grace from the Lord Jesus, along with our accepting and implementing that grace, are the building blocks of a perfected life.

I know for certain that I wasn’t called ten years ago to be a bishop because I was a good man. I was called as a sinner. In saying that, I don’t deny that there is some good in me. But that goodness is there because of Christ, His grace and influence. Whether in this life, or before, I have seen in His perfection of character the kind of man I wanted to be, and both then and now He has given me the grace to make some little steps in that direction. It is the wish of my heart to eventually be made into the fulness of His goodness. And if I do not let go of Him, He will make it so.

(to be continued…)

Practice makes progress; Jesus makes perfect.

Years ago, I felt like we, as a Church, didn’t talk much about grace and how it specifically pertains to our salvation and perfection. I kept wondering: “Who will say ‘grace’? Are we afraid of that word?” However, in the last several years, I feel like we, in the Church, have come into a grace period of sorts—where grace is mentioned and discussed much more openly.

Our Bible Dictionary defines grace as “divine means of help or strength, given through the bounteous love and mercy of Jesus Christ. It is through the grace of the Lord Jesus, made possible by his atoning sacrifice, that mankind will be raised to immortality, every person receiving his body from the grave in a condition of everlasting life. It is likewise through the grace of the Lord that individuals, through faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ and repentance of their sins, receive strength and assistance to do good works that they otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to their own means. This grace is an enabling power that allows men and women to lay hold on eternal life and exaltation after they have expended their own best efforts” (Bible Dictionary, p. 697).

However, for clarification, I feel that it must be said that this grace isn’t just reserved for “after.” It is here to strengthen and assist us now, during the expending of our own best efforts. For without grace we could not give our “best.” Additionally, all men are weak and fallen. And God is not happily magnified by our weakness except when His grace is made manifest in strengthening us.

The Savior’s grace comes now. It comes before and after. His grace permeates through and through.

Then what of this word “after” in the “after all we can do” (2 Nephi 25: 23)? This is how I look at it: Even after all we can possibly do—after all that is said and done—it is still by grace that we are saved and perfected. All of the righteous works that we could conceivably do could never save us from the eternal punishment due us because of our sins. And all of the righteous works that we could potentially do could never change us into beings perfectly fit and worthy to dwell in the holy presence of God. Grace is required in both instances. Grace brings salvation from sins. Grace brings exaltation of character.

We will discuss exaltation of character in the next post, but for now, we must first talk about the “enabling power” to do good works, and make progress in our doing.

GRACE FOR GRACE
In the scriptures we see the idea of receiving “grace for grace,” or growing from “grace to grace” (D&C 93: 12-13, 20). In fact, the scriptures say that Jesus, Himself, became perfect in this way.

“…the Only Begotten of the Father….received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace; And he…continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness; And thus he was called the Son of God, because he received not a fulness at the first” (D&C 93: 11-14). Now, whether this fulness came to Jesus in pre-mortality, before His birth, or whether the Prophet John was speaking about Jesus during His mortal life, the fact is our Savior grew toward His perfection. And then Jesus says that this is how we grow toward perfection. “I give unto you these sayings that you may…come unto the Father in my name, and in due time receive of his fulness: For if you keep my commandments you shall receive of his fulness…therefore, I say unto you, you shall receive grace for grace” (D&C 93: 19-20).

The Prophet Mormon, after lamenting the weakness, and foolishness, and devilishness of men, said it this way: “And may God grant, in his great fulness, that men might be brought unto repentance and good works, that they might be restored unto grace for grace, according to their works” (Helaman 12: 24). So, this is how I see it: Our good works are the fruit of our sincere repentance. And by repentance, we are restored unto the pattern the Lord set up, the process of receiving grace—His enabling power—and taking that grace and doing what it has given us the strength to do. Then our Lord gives us more grace to do more—we are in a better position to do more because of His previous endowment of grace that we received and acted upon.

Here’s an illustration: What if I were in bed, energy-less, no strength, weak, unable to move. Then all of the sudden, I feel this energy come into me. I feel my bodily weakness disappear somewhat. I can continue to lie there, or I can use the energy I’ve just been infused with and make myself get out of bed. It’s my choice, but my strength and encouragement to get out of bed came from the Lord. That’s how I see grace. A wave washes over us and we see the need to repent for a certain sin, or we get an idea to help someone, or we have a stronger desire to go and perform a certain calling, or we’re given an extra measure of patience in the middle of a chaotic moment, or we have a flash of inspiration, or we recognize an answer to a prayer, etc. This is grace—divine means of help or strength. What do we do with these endowments of grace? Do we use them when we get them? Are we praying for these gifts of grace? That is how we grow to perfection, using our agency to profit from the grace that the Lord gives us, that He might grant us more. We receive “grace for grace,” or another endowment of grace for the one we just used; and we grow from “grace to grace,” one endowment of grace to the next. I believe that this is the pattern our Father has ordained for our perfection—for our growth and eventual arrival at the stature of the fulness of Christ. Jesus, Himself grew from grace to grace—one endowment of His Father’s strength, knowledge, and goodness to the next. And so can we.

“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4: 16).

(to be continued…)

Practice makes progress; Jesus makes perfect.

We talk about being humble, about acknowledging Christ’s hand in our success or development. But, do we think that this acknowledging our Savior is just a good idea? That it’s what humble people do? Perhaps it’s the thing to do because it’s the truth. The scriptures do say that every good thing comes to us because of Christ (Moroni 7: 20-24).

In the hymn, “More Holiness Give Me” (Hymns, 131), if we really mean what we sing, we ask the Lord to give us more of all of these good traits: holiness, strivings within, patience in our suffering, sorrow for our sins, faith in the Savior, joy in serving Him, purpose in our praying, etc. Each of these attributes are not something we can materialize in ourselves by sheer will and intense effort. (That would be like one of us trying to fly by frantically beating our arms against the air.) No! These are gifts from God. The author of the song believed that. Do we, who sing it, believe it?

Alma 38: 9, tells us that “only in and through Christ” can man be saved; and that He “is the life and the light of the world.” So…we are not our own life; we are not our own light. He gives this to us. If we are alive, it is by His power. If there is any light in us in this fallen world, it is by Him that it comes.

GOOD
I would like to go back to an idea that I mentioned two posts ago. A rich, young man ran up to Jesus and called Him “Good Master,” to which Jesus responded: “Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God” (Mark 10: 17-18). Now, if we take Jesus’ words as truth, then we have to believe what He said, as well as what was unsaid…If only God is good, then Nephi, for instance, was not good. Hold on just a minute…I haven’t met Nephi, but I have had the opportunity for the last quarter of a century to travel among many of the members of the Church, and mingle in their excellent company. I have been privileged to meet many souls whom I would call “good.” Not throwing the term around lightly, I have found myself sincerely saying: “You are such a good person.” And, I am certain that if I knew Nephi while he was alive, I would have called him “good” as well, for I have felt, while reading his words, that he had great good in Him (which good came from Christ). However, according to the way Jesus was using the word “good” in this conversation with the young man, Nephi was not good; Joseph Smith was not good; the Prophets and Apostles are not good; you and I are not good.

But another scripture (Moroni 7: 5), tells us: “if their works [are] good, then they are good also.” And we must take all these scriptures together; they must all work in harmony. So perhaps none of us is “good” in the way that God is good, which is the way God wants us to eventually become. Perhaps Jesus was just saying that none of us here has reached that level of goodness yet.

Taking it a step further: perhaps Jesus could see into this young man’s heart (as He can see into yours and mine). Perhaps this young man was thinking that he was good enough, having been a keeper of the commandments since his youth. Well, maybe Jesus wanted to impress upon his mind that only God is finished; only God is good through and through. Only God is celestial. All the rest of us are deficient in goodness. All the rest of us are still in danger of potentially falling from grace (see D&C 20: 32).

Now, you (like the young rich man) may not see yourself as a sinner. You may view yourself as one of the ninety and nine “good” sheep, which could, I guess, cause you to decide that these writings just aren’t for you. And yet, if you really did view yourself as “good” and as one of the “ninety and nine,” I can think of two reasons why the ideas discussed here could benefit you. First, they might help you to become more aware that there are many other souls out there, all around you, (and they are God’s cherished children, your spiritual family) who sincerely do feel badly about themselves, who do see themselves as sinners, and who yearn for compassionate and understanding hearts surrounding them. And the second reason the doctrines herein could benefit you is plainly and simply this: You may just as well be a sinner after all, without realizing it…a “sinner” as the Lord uses the term; and you are probably not yet “good” as the Lord uses the term. Therefore, these doctrines could serve as an awakening to help you further along in your eternal progression. It could be that Jesus’ idea of “good” requires more of us than perhaps we have required of ourselves.

COME UNTO CHRIST
Jacob labored diligently to persuade us to “come unto Christ, and partake of the goodness of God” (Jacob 1:7). How do we partake of God’s goodness? He gives it to us through Christ. We can get it in no other way. There is none good but one, and that is God. And for God’s goodness to come into us, we must come unto Christ, for without Christ there could no good thing come to any of us (Moroni 7: 24). But through the grace of Christ—His divine help and strength—we grow from grace to grace into His fulness…His goodness. The Father, working through Jesus, transforms us, by degrees, into the image of His Son, unto “the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Ephesians 4: 13).

Which brings me to my final thought for today…I have repeatedly declared that Jesus gives us the capacity to do and be all good things. And someone may say, “Of course, we know that; it goes without saying.” But that’s the problem. It should never go without saying. Not for any of us! Besides, how we say it is a reflection of how we see it.

Therefore: “Praise the bridge that carried you over” (George Colman, the Younger).

Christ is that bridge. He will carry us over the difficulty of this life into all good. And all the good that we already have has come to us because of Him. Should we not, therefore, joyfully and consistently express it?

When you and I come to recognize that Jesus is truly the power behind all that is good in us, both in our desires as well as our actions, such expressions will naturally flow from us. And not just in our formal testimony meetings, but we will spontaneously speak of Him around the dinner table, in the car, and anywhere else where we may find ourselves in the company of those we love.

Jesus is the life and the light of your world! So, why not let your world know that you know it. :)

(to be continued…)

Practice makes progress; Jesus makes perfect.

I have heard it said by some in this Church that Christ will “help us turn our weaknesses into strengths.” But, when we read the scriptures, we see that Christ does not phrase it that way. He declares that He will turn our weaknesses into strengths, not help us to do it. He claims the credit for it. “…if men come unto me…if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them” (Ether 12: 27). If Jesus, who cannot lie, considers Himself responsible for our advancement from weakness to strength, then perhaps we should cease taking any credit unto ourselves.

Nephi told us that he had been “highly favored of the Lord” (1 Nephi 1: 1). How many of us have had the spiritual favors granted to us from the Lord that Nephi had? Mighty visions, miracles, seeing the Savior, visits from angels, etc.! And yet, nowhere do we see Nephi boasting of his spiritual goodness. Instead we hear him boasting of “the great goodness of the Lord.” When it comes to his own goodness, Nephi exclaims: “O wretched man that I am!” (2 Nephi 4: 17-19).

Ammon speaking of himself and his fellow missionaries to the Lamanites said: “there never were men that had so great reason to rejoice as we, since the world began” (Alma 26: 35). How many of us have seen the magnificent results Ammon saw? Thousands and thousands of faithful, unshakable converts! And yet, Ammon isn’t boasting of himself. “I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak” (Alma 26: 12). Instead he remembers the Lord saving him from hell: “Who could have supposed that our God would have been so merciful as to have snatched us from our awful, sinful, and polluted state?” (Alma 26: 17).

Or what of the brother of Jared, who lamented his evil nature and unworthiness before the Lord (see Ether 3: 2)? He’s not boasting of himself and his righteousness. We see all through the scriptures that the Lord knows how to teach humility to those who will listen, just like He taught Moses “that man is nothing, which thing [Moses] never had supposed” (Moses 1: 10).

So, according to the scriptures, if there is anyone who does good among us, he or she does it by the power and gifts of God (Moroni 10: 24-25). And, if the power and gifts of God are done away with, there shall be no one who does good. All good comes because of Christ (Moroni 7: 24). If we believe the scriptures, then how can we think that any good comes because of us?

The apostle John, speaking of Christ, said: “We love him, because he first loved us” (1 John 4: 19). Well, can’t the same be said about goodness? If we are good in any way, is it not because Christ was good first?

Thomas S. Monson and all other prophets back to Adam know that they owe their goodness to Christ, just as Christ owes His goodness to the Father.

I think of President Gordon B. Hinckley, whose mortal life has been memorialized as a good, well-lived life. According to the scriptures, Gordon B. Hinckley was good because of Christ and His grace that came upon him. We can even see it. Remember when young Elder Hinckley was serving his mission in England, he became a bit discouraged due to the lack of success. He wrote a letter to his father, saying, “I am wasting my time and your money. I don’t see any point in my staying here.” He was considering cutting his mission short and going home. But after some time, he received a short letter back from his father that said: “Dear Gordon. I have your letter….I have only one suggestion. Forget yourself and go to work. With love, Your Father.” President Hinckley said of that moment: “I pondered that, and the next morning in our scripture class we read that great statement of the Lord: ‘For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it’ (Mark 8: 35). It touched me. That statement, that promise, in conjunction with my father’s letter, prompted me to go upstairs,…get on my knees, and make a covenant with the Lord that I would try to forget myself and go to work. I count that as the day of decision in my life. Everything good that has happened to me since then I can trace back to the decision I made at that time” (Our Heritage, p. 140, emphasis added).

The letter from his father which was inspired by the goodness of the Lord, along with the grace of God to see the message of that letter with spiritual eyes put Elder Hinckley in a position to receive more good from the Source of good. It is the Lord’s grace that moves us to prayerfully ask, that humbles us to listen, and that strengthens us to act.

Nephi tells us that when he was young, he did not rebel against his father, Lehi, like his brothers had, because God visited him with His Spirit and softened his heart (1 Nephi 2: 16). Notice, Nephi did not say: I was a good person, a better person than my brothers, so I did not rebel. He gives the Lord the credit.

I have no doubt that Gordon B. Hinckley, Nephi, Ammon, and a host of others are now in heaven, and will be given all that the Father has to give. But they are not in heaven because they were good…and I believe they were good! They are in heaven because of Jesus. In fact, they were good because of Jesus. If it had not been for Jesus, “there could no good thing come unto them” (Moroni 7: 24).

Please, make no mistake about it, it is not our repentance that gives us a remission of sins. It is Christ’s redemption! It is not our baptism that washes us clean. It is Jesus’ blood. He requires our repentance and our baptism, but He is the doer of the atonement’s redemptive work. And He is the source of all good that flows to us!

Let’s give credit where credit is due.

(to be continued…)

Practice makes progress; Jesus makes perfect.

So far in this series I’ve stated quite unequivocally that the Father and the Son are our source of life, strength, capacity, and advancement, and that we should all be God-reliant in our quest for perfection, for this is not something we are able to bring about by ourselves.

Now, to underscore this point even more, let’s look at Jesus, and see how the greatest Being that ever lived on this planet viewed His own capacity to do and bring about good, as well as the source of His ultimate perfection. He is, after all, our Exemplar. So, let’s follow His lead.

Jesus truly believed and declared that God had made Him who He was, had taught Him what He knew, and had given Him the power He possessed to do all that He did. As we read the four gospels in the New Testament, as well as those chapters in the Book of Mormon documenting Jesus’ visit to the Nephites (3 Nephi 11-28), we see how Jesus declares His dependence and reliance upon God, His Father, over and over again. And if Jesus—the greatest of all—saw life this way, then what better argument for us to do the same! Every time we see Jesus doing this, we should ask ourselves, Is this our thinking? Do we recognize enough our dependence on God for everything we have and are? King Benjamin spoke emphatically about it, but do we? Or, have we convinced ourselves that we can do it, that it is up to us, that we work the works and qualify ourselves for the reward? What will finally lead us to see it the way Paul described it when he said: “For it is God who worketh in you both to will and to do” (Philippians 2: 13)? I’m telling you, this was Jesus’ view of His own self. Listen to His words:

“My Father worketh hitherto, and I work….The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do” (John 5: 17-19).

According to Jesus, the Father taught Him how to do everything He did: turning water into wine, healing the sick, walking upon the sea, raising the dead, etc. The Son learned how to do His many miracles by His Father’s instruction. Jesus then said to the Jews:

“For the Father loveth the Son, and showeth him all things that himself doeth; and he [God] will show him [Jesus] greater works than these, that ye may marvel” (John 5: 20).

The Father’s teaching was going to be utilized more by the Son resulting in the Son doing greater things than He had done thus far, insomuch that the Jews would marvel. The Father taught the Son to resurrect. He gave the Son the charge to judge the dead. All given by the Father!

“For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickenth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son….For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to execute judgment also” (John 5: 21-22, 26-27).

“I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father who hath sent me” (John 5: 30).

Jesus was given wisdom and guidance from His Father in all things. This is what Isaiah said about Jesus and His judgment:

“And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge…And shall make him of quick understanding…he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears. But with righteousness shall he judge” (2 Nephi 21: 2-4).

The Father put His Spirit upon the Son, and through that Spirit the Son became who He was.

Isaiah also prophesied of Jesus’ capacity and responsibility to speak for God:

“The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season unto thee, O house of Israel” (2 Nephi 7: 4).

And Jesus said of Himself:

“The word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s who sent me” (John 14: 24).

Jesus acknowledged that God gave Him the tongue of the learned, so that He could speak the right word at the right time. Jesus acknowledged repetitively that His Father was the source of His knowledge, wisdom, capacity, and strength in all things. What about you and me? Are we doing the same?

Now, Jesus was not saying all these things merely to show His humility, or to kindly give honor to His Father (though certainly both things are accomplished). He was speaking the truth—the way things are!

John the Baptist said: “A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven” (John 3: 27). And then he said this of Christ: “The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand” (John 3: 35).

Jesus was God-reliant! He obtained His power from the Father.

“And he hath power given unto him from the Father to redeem [his people] from their sins because of repentance” (Helaman 5: 11). Jesus said, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28: 18). He knew and acknowledged where His power came from.

The Father gave Jesus of His fulness, and Jesus received it grace for grace (D&C 93: 3-4, 12-14). If this is how Jesus perceived His own growth, then should not we?

Finally, our Savior did not look upon God the Father as His assistant, or helper, when He needed something. No. God was everything to Jesus! He was the source of all that was in Him. And, what’s more, Jesus delighted in His Father! Look at these beautiful words from George MacDonald:

“As Jesus went out of a house [see Mark 10: 10-17], [a] young man came running to him, and kneeling down in the way, addressed him as ‘Good Master.’

“The words with which the Lord interrupts [the young man’s] address reveal the whole attitude of the Lord’s being. At that moment, at [each and every] moment….[Jesus’] whole thought, his whole delight, was in the thought, in the will, in the being of his Father. The joy of the Lord’s life, that which made it life to him, was the Father; of him he was always thinking, to him he was always turning….That was his treasure-house, the jewel of his mind….It was not for himself he came [into] the world—not to establish his own power over the doings [of men, nor] his own influence over the hearts of men: he came that they might know the Father who was his joy, his life. The sons of men were his Father’s children like himself: that the Father should have them all in his bosom was the one thought of [Jesus’] heart: that should be his doing for his Father, cost him what it might!…He was not interested in himself, but in his Father and his Father’s children. He did not care to hear himself called good. It was not of consequence to him….‘You call me good! You should know my Father!’

“…When the word good enters the ears of the Son, his heart lifts it at once to his Father, the Father of all [humankind]. [Jesus’] words contain no denial of goodness in himself: in his grand self-regard he was not the [originator] of his goodness, neither did he care for his own goodness, except to be good: it was to him a matter of course. But for his Father’s goodness, he would spend life, suffering, labor, [and] death, to make that known! [God’s] other children must learn to give him his due, and love him as did [His Beloved] Son! The Father was all in all to the Son, and the Son no more thought of his own goodness than an honest man thinks of his honesty….‘Why callest thou me good? None is good save one, even God’” (Unspoken Sermons, Series I, II, III, [Whitehorn,  California: Johannesen], pp. 171-173, emphasis added).

(to be continued…)

Practice makes progress; Jesus makes perfect.

In our back yard, we have an apple tree. We’ve named her Eve. :) I prune her branches about once a year. My wife sprays her for bugs several times in the spring. But, the wonderful apples that show up on our beloved tree are not of our making.

We also have a glorious garden thanks to my wife’s parents. They love to garden! At the beginning of each growing season they come over and till the soil, mixing in fertilizer. We might join them in planting seeds and getting things ready. Then, after a little time, it happens. There springs up carrots, potatoes, onions, green beans, radishes, peppers, tomatoes, peas, cucumbers, squash, and rhubarb. We also tend the spreading grapevine growing along our back fence and every fall it brings forth more and more grapes. Additionally, we have strawberries and raspberries growing on the side of our house. We truly enjoy a bounty of produce. Of course we have to water all of this by means of the intricate watering system my father-in-law put in. But, just as our Savior did in Cana of Galilee 2000 years ago, Jesus turns our watering into wine. It is by His doing, His creation that we enjoy the miracle of these delicious fruits and vegetables.

Now, our developing godliness is very much like the work of a gardener or farmer. A farmer grows crops, but he doesn’t really grow them. God grows them. God gives the sun, the rain, and He has put the miracle in place where a peach seed can become a peach-bearing tree; corn seeds can become stalks of corn with ears. It’s God’s power that does all of this. However, man has his work…he cultivates, waters, fertilizes, weeds, etc. But we get the blessed results because of God’s miracle, not ours.

Do we, by our diligence, care for the seed that the Lord is growing in us? Do we, by our agency, diligently weed, and bring His living water to our growing plant? It’s His water, His sun-light of Christ. He prunes us and shapes us. But do we, by our choice, place ourselves in His care that He may do His miracle and make us “fruitful in every good work…Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power”? (Colossians 1: 10-11.)

Jesus is “the Lord of the harvest” (Alma 26: 7). He is “the light of the sun, and the power thereof by which it was made” (D&C 88: 7). He is the giver of living water (John 4: 10). He is “the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning” (Mosiah 3: 8).

Jesus taught His disciples: “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches…without me ye can do nothing” (John 15: 5-6).

It is Jesus who will make us fruitful…not we by ourselves!

GOD GIVES THE INCREASE
We can only “save” ourselves and others in physical, temporal ways, though it may affect us spiritually. We can participate in our own saving ordinances, or be proxy in performing necessary ordinances for the dead, but it is Christ who redeems us. We can preach doctrine, share testimony, attend and invite others to Spirit-filled gatherings, recite scriptures, etc., but it is God who must touch our spirits so that we will desire Him, and believe in Him, and trust Him. He gives us testimony. He makes us grow spiritually by His power, not ours. The Apostle Paul said: “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase” (1 Corinthians 3: 6-7).

Christ will grow us into a perfect person. He is the worker of this great miracle!

“And now…I desire that ye shall plant this word in your hearts, and as it beginneth to swell even so nourish it by your faith. And behold, it will become a tree, springing up in you unto everlasting life” (Alma 33: 23).

(to be continued…)

Practice makes progress; Jesus makes perfect.

Last week’s blog post about the strength of man vs. the strength of God helps to lay the foundation and context for this week’s message.

Pharaoh dreamed a dream. Joseph, by the power of God, interpreted it. And Egypt became temporally self-reliant during the seven years of famine. And all because Joseph was God-reliant, following the inspiration of the Lord in both preparation and administration of the goods set aside beforehand. Egypt would not have been self-reliant, if Joseph had not been God-reliant. For this, Pharaoh recognized and praised Joseph’s God.

In this Church we are taught to become self-reliant. What does this mean? In the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord gives the Church this phrase regarding its self-reliance: “that the church may stand independent above all other creatures beneath the celestial world” (D&C 78: 14). The Lord wants the Church to be independent of governments, financial institutions, etc., for its maintenance and progress, so that none of these can have claim on the Church to alter its teachings, organizational structure, or policies in order to satisfy the world’s desires or subdue the world’s criticism. Institutions that fail to meet the demands of its benefactors lose the benefits from those benefactors. And it is the same for us as a church, as well as individuals and families. The Lord desires for each of us to not be dependent on governments, financial institutions, outside individuals, or even the Church itself for the ongoing maintenance of our own families. However, while the Church is to remain independent of every creature beneath the celestial world, it must never consider itself independent of those who belong to the celestial world. And so it is with us. We are not to face life independent of God the Father and Jesus Christ, His Son. We are not to go about each day independent of the Holy Ghost. We are not to assume that we are independent of angels and ministering spirits. We are to be dependent upon all of these for all that we are, and have, and do.

“Look unto me in every thought” (D&C 6: 36).

“Yea, cry unto [God] for mercy….Cry unto him…over all your flocks. Cry unto him…over all your household….Yea, cry unto him against the power of your enemies. Yea, cry unto him against the devil….Cry unto him over the crops of your fields….Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around you” (Alma 34: 18-27).

“De we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment…and for all the riches which we have of every kind?” (Mosiah 4: 19).

We are taught to be self-reliant, but we must be so careful to keep this in its proper perspective. There is a natural tendency in the concepts of self-reliance and self-sufficiency to have the focus fixated on self, where, if we enjoy success, pride can grow upon us from day to day (see Helaman 3: 36).

“And it came to pass in the eighth year of the reign of the judges, that the people of the church began to wax proud, because of their exceeding riches, and their fine silks, and their fine-twined linen, and because of their many flocks and herds, and their gold and their silver, and all manner of precious things, which they had obtained by their industry” (Alma 4: 6).

Notice that these people of the Church obtained all these riches by their industry. This wasn’t undeserved compensation. They had not won these riches by luck gambling or participating in a lottery. Neither had they inherited them from a wealthy person who willed them their fortune before dying. Nor had they even stole them. They had obeyed the law of the harvest and were reaping the rewards. But to think that all this prosperity came by their own doing was a huge mistake. We see among other things, that forgetting God’s hand in their progress—and even literal existence—eventually led them to stop assisting the poor, which is terribly displeasing to the Lord. (In fact, Jesus calls those who ignore the poor, “goats” and says at the last day they will be separated from His sheep and set aside on His left hand to await everlasting punishment—Yikes! See Matthew 25: 31-46.)

The Lord desires us to be industrious in order to be useful to Him for good, but to think that we are the source of the prosperity or the good is to forget our place. Yes, we might feel that we are successfully holding up our own little corner of the world, but all the while Almighty God holds us in the palm of His hand. The intellect we have fostered, the skills we have painstakingly sought to develop are a wonderful and essential part of who we are becoming, yet the Lord could take them all away in an instant, suddenly! A freak auto accident could bring on a lawsuit that might bankrupt us. A fall from a ladder or down the stairs could paralyze us or cause trauma to the brain that might render us mentally incapacitated. Or, as happened to a wonderful business associate of mine in his thirties, we could go to sleep one night, never to wake up again. All that we think we have become in the eyes of the world, by our industry, could vanish. All our prospects for prosperity could melt away.

However, if we instead are focusing on the Lord, the One upon whom we must rely for our sustenance, our salvation and our being made perfect, we find ourselves, by His grace, growing stronger and stronger in our humility and gratitude before Him.

“Are we not all beggars?” (Mosiah 4: 19-23).

My friend, Steve, spoke once about this idea in our Sunday School class, saying: “When we talk about these verses in Mosiah, the discussion almost invariably goes to ‘How much should we give the beggar? How do we know what to do? Do we just give to the city programs? Wouldn’t it be better to teach these people to fish, rather than just give them a fish today?’” Steve then said: “It worries me that we see ourselves as different from these beggars, instead of the commonality of our beggarship.” I love that! …”the commonality of our beggarship.”

“Are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have…?” We speak in terms of temporal things this way, and yet, is it not more so in spiritual things? The Book of Mormon teaches that it’s dangerous for us to believe that we prosper without God assisting us. Well, it also teaches us that we cannot pursue working out our own salvation without relying on the God of our salvation either. While being self-reliant, we should foremost be God-reliant, “relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save” (2 Nephi 31: 19).

(to be continued…)

Practice makes progress; Jesus makes perfect.

I have been preaching that we are powerless to perfect ourselves, and that Christ has to do it for us. Well, we’ve come to the point in this series where I must clarify that men and women do have some power of their own.

God, according to His great plan, has endowed all humans with the strength of man. Now, this strength varies from one person to the next. And we’re not just talking about muscles, or physical power. There’s intelligence, wisdom, talent, vigor, resolve, stamina, etc. We may each be strong in some areas and weak in others. And there are those among us who may face greater restrictions than the rest of us, suffering from chronic sickness or disease, or who (as our society has termed it) have disabilities. But even these are strong in other traits. The point is, we are not helpless down here. We’ve been given our own strength to use. However, we must remember that we wouldn’t even exist if the Lord weren’t sustaining us through our lives. King Benjamin said that the Lord “is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will…even supporting you from one moment to another” (Mosiah 2: 21).

God, through His omnipotence, keeps our physical form—all the way down to the cellular level—from going into chaos; He keeps our hearts beating and our lungs breathing, keeping us alive day after day, and even from one moment to the next, so we can exercise our agency and choose. He inspires us to choose, and puts His power upon us to motivate our choices for good. But we choose.

And we can even choose to do bad things because of God sustaining us. He does not support, sustain, or approve of our sinning, but He does sustain us physically, that we might exercise our agency according to our own will and desires. And because He sustains us, we choose life or death, joy or sorrow, peace or remorse of conscience, perfection or damnation, the love of God or the captivity of the devil, etc. This is the “opposition in all things” spoken of by Lehi (2 Nephi 2: 11).

However, God may choose to remove us from this earth early if we use our agency in such a way that leads us further and further from possible repentance. That is His call. He doesn’t want us to continue in sin, but for the most part He will keep us alive so we can exercise our agency as we choose.

Therefore, we have this strength of man…but it only goes so far.

Looking back at the history of the Nephites, there were times when they “began to depend upon their own strength and upon their own wisdom” (Helaman 16: 15). And often during these times, “because of…their boastings in their own strength, they were left in their own strength; therefore they did not prosper….they saw that they had become weak, like unto their brethren….even man for man” (Helaman 4: 13, 24-26). (I find it interesting how the strength of man is considered weak here. It is certainly weak compared to the strength of God; but there are men on this earth, who have removed themselves from the strength of God, and yet we would consider them strong, intelligent, talented, capable, etc., as to the strength of man.)

So much for our limited, human strength. Now let’s look at what Christ proposes.

“I will be merciful unto you; he that is weak among you hereafter shall be made strong” (D&C 50: 16).

“And inasmuch as they were humble they might be made strong, and blessed from on high” (D&C 1: 28).

Through faith, many “wrought righteousness, obtained promises…out of weakness were made strong” (Hebrews 11: 33-34).

“And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them….And because thou hast seen thy weakness thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my Father” (Ether 12: 27, 37).

There are many times in scripture when the Lord says He will make us strong, or we shall be made strong. Christ’s using the word “made” should lead us to focus on Him who is doing the making—Jesus Christ doing a work in us—instead of us focusing on our doing a work in ourselves. We can’t do it. But He can!

Most of us are familiar with the saying: “I can do hard things.” This is a strong idea, and a wonderfully motivational idea, but it is a doctrinally incomplete idea. The scriptural counterpart says: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (see Philippians 4: 13). Now, adding Christ to the equation puts the foundation for doing things back to where it belongs. There is no sand in this thinking. Ammon knew how to build on this Rock when he said: “I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things” (Alma 26: 12).

If left to my own strength, I could still go out and sing for people and it might turn out nice; even a little good could come out of it where someone might be blessed by God, despite my not having His Spirit. But if I went out and was attended by the grace of our Savior and inspired by His Spirit, there could be a much greater and lasting result of good done. If left to ourselves, we might enjoy some success in the world, but if strengthened by the power and Spirit of the Lord, we would be greatly enhanced so that God’s work would be done and souls would be richly blessed. This is how Christ wants it. He wants to give us of His strength!

The fact that we don’t know it, or understand it, or see life this way, doesn’t keep our generous Savior from sharing His light and strength with us. But one day we will know and see how it really was for us. However, think of how our gratitude and love for Him would soar if we would come to see it this way now!

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

(to be continued…)