No Coincidences

Tag: uplifting

  • Jesus Christ

    Jesus Christ

    At church last week, we had an uplifting meeting focused on music. Ivy and Sage even participated, singing my new favorite song:

    That evening, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hosted an interfaith concert. Beth and I took Ivy as a special treat for being such a big kid lately. It was a sufficiently uplifting Sunday.

    This is Holy Week.

    Latter-day Saint traditions haven’t normally had a big focus on Holy Week (not sure if that’s supposed to be capitalized…).. I don’t even really know what it means. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has asked its members to have a little more focus on Easter this and recent years.

    I had a blog post already prepared for this week. I rarely stray from my plans. But during church on Sunday, a thought came to me:

    When was the last time I wrote a post completely focused on Jesus Christ?

    I hope my blog is Christ-centered. I think pretty much every post should have something to do with Him. But I realized I hadn’t given my simple testimony of Him in some time.

    I don’t have anything extraordinary to say since this wasn’t planned. Except that everything about Jesus Christ is extraordinary.

    This is my humble testimony and my small reminder to the world.

    Jesus Christ, under the direction of God the Father, created this Earth that we now reside on. He was our Brother. We were part of the council that decided to come to Earth.

    Jesus Christ was born to a virgin in Bethlehem. He was the Creator of this Earth. He could have been born anywhere. Instead of being born in a royal palace, He was born in a manger, amidst farm animals, in the humblest of circumstances.

    I marvel that He would descend from His throne divine
    To rescue a soul so rebellious and proud as mine,
    That He should extend His great love unto such as I,
    Sufficient to own, to redeem, and to justify.

    Jesus Christ lived and grew, just like us. He walked this Earth that He had created. Then He began to preach.

    Jesus Christ quickly amassed followers and a reputation for His powerful words, teachings, and miracles.

    Jesus Christ went to a garden called Gethsemane. There He began the process we now call the Atonement. 

    Atonement: Reparation for a wrong or injury.
    Atonement: the reconciliation of God and humankind through Jesus Christ.

    He paid for every sin. He paid for every wrongdoing. He felt every suffering, injustice, pain, sickness, heartache, loneliness, fear, hurt, and tear. He experienced it like it was His own. The sheer weight of this task made Him bleed from every pore in His body. A mortal body with an immortal soul. Our Brother.

    I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me,
    Confused at the grace that so fully He proffers me.
    I tremble to know that for me He was crucified,
    That for me, a sinner, He suffered, He bled and died.

    As if this weren’t enough, He allowed Himself to be arrested, spit upon, and beaten. He carried the cross that would be used to kill Him.

    He allowed Himself to be nailed to a cross. Nails through His feet. Nails through His hands. Nails through His wrists. 

    I think of His hands pierced and bleeding to pay the debt!
    Such mercy, such love and devotion can I forget?
    No, no, I will praise and adore at the mercy seat,
    Until at the glorified throne I kneel at His feet.

    He suffered and died so we could be reconciled to God. He suffered and died so we could one day go home with Him.

    Then the glorious, most fantastic, most amazing news the Earth had ever heard. Death isn’t the end.

    Three days after His death Jesus Christ raised up the body He allowed to die. 

    He keeps the nail marks in a resurrected and perfected body. Why? I ask my daughters this often. Why does Jesus Christ keep the marks of the nails in His perfect body? “To remind us that He always remembers us.”

    Oh, it is wonderful that He should care for me
    Enough to die for me!
    Oh, it is wonderful, wonderful to me!

    He lives.

    Our Savior. Our King.

  • The Shack

    The Shack

    The Shack was a New York Times best seller and eventually became a motion picture.  I watched the movie before reading the book.  I liked the movie a lot so was looking forward to reading the book. 

    The Shack is a story about a man who has to come face to face with his faith and what he believes about God.  It’s written claiming to be the true experience of one man, written by his friend.

    The book is great.  It is a religious themed book with an engaging story that anyone could enjoy.  The story is one anyone can get behind.  We have all felt pain and the circumstances of the main character’s journey are easy to attach oneself to.

    I marked and highlighted throughout the book.  It’s a book with countless lines that make you stop and think.  It’s an intellectual and spiritual journey.

    I had the unique experience of watching the movie 2 or 3 years before reading the book.  I loved the movie.  The movie really made me think and expanded my view on pain, justice, mercy, and how God fits into that equation.  Surprisingly, I think the book touched on that in a different way.  That theme was there, but I remember it being more palpable in the movie experience.

    The big question I’d like to address – did this really happen?  Some of what I know to be true doctrinally was misrepresented in this story, but I still can’t say for certain that this was a story of fiction. The world is a mysterious place and I don’t want to get into a situation where I limit what God is capable of.  If He presented Himself to this man in this unique way… maybe.  Maybe it happened.  Maybe countless things happened.

    What I will say is this:  whether it happened or it didn’t happen, even if it’s a completely fictional tale, I learned something.  It expanded my mind, made me think, and I believe it even strengthened my testimony of God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost.  For that reason, I can say I don’t care whether the main character truly had this experience.  Even if he was just impacted by whatever experience he had in a way that led him to portray such a unique and beautiful story, that’s good enough for me.

    There is something unique at the end of the book.  The very last page has “The Missy Project.”  It states that the book became #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List on a $200 budget because of passionate readers.  It says: “if you were as taken with the message of this book as we are, you may already have some unique ideas as to how you can best let others know about it…. If you have a Web site or blog, consider sharing a bit about the book and how it touched your life.  Don’t give away the plot, but recommend that they read it as well and link to http://www.theshackbook.com.

    I checked, the website still exists these 13 years after publication.  In fact, it’s a beautiful website promoting both the movie and the book.

    This book did touch me.  It expanded my thinking.  I loved it.  I loved the movie as well. 

    A lot of the books I read few will ever read simply because people aren’t interested in the subject matters that interest me.  This book should not be avoided.  Anyone can learn and grow from this book, it’s a page turner with an engaging plot and wonderful story.  Please read it.

    If you’ve already read The Shack tell me what you thought of it.