God and Nature Winter 2022
imagine there was no Christmas |
|
By Bruce Cooper
Imagine that God did not exist.
Imagine that what was right was whatever you wanted it to be, and that wrong had no consequence.
Imagine there was no justice nor compassion for the weak. Imagine that forgiveness served no purpose and that liars could freely speak.
What a world we would live in, what a dismal place it would be, if left to our own understanding, we walked through our days with nothing else to see.
And yet, for some, these apparent facts, are held as not being the case. Over two thousand years ago, a little child was born, to show us of God’s grace.
He spoke of reconciliation, He spoke of God’s unfailing love. He showed us of His Father, in every word He spoke.
He moved among the weary and healed those with disease.
He fed the hungry and commanded the storm to cease.
He said “learn of me”, hear the words that I speak, I came not to condemn but to show you of God’s grace.
Now some don’t like to hear it, that repentance is a must. That our ways are not God’s ways and we really need to trust.
But that really is the starting point, when we turn our ways to His, and without that turning, there is nothing God can give.
God sent us His Son, Jesus, to show us of His love. He has done for us what we are not capable of.
We can ignore Him if we want to, pretend that He does not exist, even ignore our own history, but it doesn’t change the truth, that Jesus is the Son of God, God among us, to bring us back to Himself.
Consider how He served us, even washed the disciples' feet, sought no earthly kingdom, nor palace wherein to lay His head.
The Lamb without blemish, to wash away our sins, by grace we are redeemed, to bring us back again.
Our God is a Holy God, but we do not understand. So Jesus walked among us, to take us by the hand.
Who lays down His life for another, when the other does not yet see? Who shows compassion and gives forgiveness for wrongs that are voiced as right?
Who lays it out before us, in everything that we see? Who else walks on water, heals the blind and calls out to those who are blind, so that they may clearly see?
But some chose to reject Jesus, they struck their blows upon His head. They drove those spikes within His hands and feet and raised Him on the cross.
“We will crucify Him”, the crowd yelled out aloud. And so it was, Jesus, the Son of God, as He foretold, gave His life up upon that cross.
But our ways are not God’s ways and our thoughts are not His thoughts. As Jesus told us, before the spikes were hit, that He would die for us, but that was NOT the end.
Three days later, as He told us it would be, Jesus rose again, for all the world to see.
He is the God of Abraham, and others that we know. He is the God that calls us back and gives us life anew.
He who was crucified is the Way, the Truth and the Life. To ignore this gift God lays before us wipes away the bridge He made.
Imagine there’s no Christmas? No, I really can’t do that. He is our hope, our salvation, our grace personified. “For God so loved the world”, the Holy Scriptures say, that He sent us His only begotten Son, whose birth we celebrate on Christmas day.
Worthy is the Lamb! Blessings!
Bruce Cooper lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Bruce served 35 years in the Canadian Armed Forces, and then worked 18 years as an Information Technology (IT) Network Administrator and a Certified Google Apps Deployment Specialist. He is retired and now works part time with the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires. Bruce became a Christian in his mid twenties and writes a blog called Reasoned Cases for Christ.
Imagine that God did not exist.
Imagine that what was right was whatever you wanted it to be, and that wrong had no consequence.
Imagine there was no justice nor compassion for the weak. Imagine that forgiveness served no purpose and that liars could freely speak.
What a world we would live in, what a dismal place it would be, if left to our own understanding, we walked through our days with nothing else to see.
And yet, for some, these apparent facts, are held as not being the case. Over two thousand years ago, a little child was born, to show us of God’s grace.
He spoke of reconciliation, He spoke of God’s unfailing love. He showed us of His Father, in every word He spoke.
He moved among the weary and healed those with disease.
He fed the hungry and commanded the storm to cease.
He said “learn of me”, hear the words that I speak, I came not to condemn but to show you of God’s grace.
Now some don’t like to hear it, that repentance is a must. That our ways are not God’s ways and we really need to trust.
But that really is the starting point, when we turn our ways to His, and without that turning, there is nothing God can give.
God sent us His Son, Jesus, to show us of His love. He has done for us what we are not capable of.
We can ignore Him if we want to, pretend that He does not exist, even ignore our own history, but it doesn’t change the truth, that Jesus is the Son of God, God among us, to bring us back to Himself.
Consider how He served us, even washed the disciples' feet, sought no earthly kingdom, nor palace wherein to lay His head.
The Lamb without blemish, to wash away our sins, by grace we are redeemed, to bring us back again.
Our God is a Holy God, but we do not understand. So Jesus walked among us, to take us by the hand.
Who lays down His life for another, when the other does not yet see? Who shows compassion and gives forgiveness for wrongs that are voiced as right?
Who lays it out before us, in everything that we see? Who else walks on water, heals the blind and calls out to those who are blind, so that they may clearly see?
But some chose to reject Jesus, they struck their blows upon His head. They drove those spikes within His hands and feet and raised Him on the cross.
“We will crucify Him”, the crowd yelled out aloud. And so it was, Jesus, the Son of God, as He foretold, gave His life up upon that cross.
But our ways are not God’s ways and our thoughts are not His thoughts. As Jesus told us, before the spikes were hit, that He would die for us, but that was NOT the end.
Three days later, as He told us it would be, Jesus rose again, for all the world to see.
He is the God of Abraham, and others that we know. He is the God that calls us back and gives us life anew.
He who was crucified is the Way, the Truth and the Life. To ignore this gift God lays before us wipes away the bridge He made.
Imagine there’s no Christmas? No, I really can’t do that. He is our hope, our salvation, our grace personified. “For God so loved the world”, the Holy Scriptures say, that He sent us His only begotten Son, whose birth we celebrate on Christmas day.
Worthy is the Lamb! Blessings!
Bruce Cooper lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Bruce served 35 years in the Canadian Armed Forces, and then worked 18 years as an Information Technology (IT) Network Administrator and a Certified Google Apps Deployment Specialist. He is retired and now works part time with the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires. Bruce became a Christian in his mid twenties and writes a blog called Reasoned Cases for Christ.