Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Glorious Mystery

Last night I started reading the book "My Sister's Keeper". It's the story of parents who had a two year old daughter who was diagnosed with a rare lymphomia. To save her life, they had IV. A geneticist implanted the embreyo that had all the chromosones as their sick child. This child..another daughter...was born in essence to save her sister's life. This topic has raised an enormous amount of controversy. Most say it is extremely unethical, that it goes against nature. As I read the story from the mother's perspective, I feel her pain. I feel the heartbreaking desire to do anything within her own power to save her child. I also can't help but feel like this woman, this mother, isn't willing to give it to God, but instead trying to play God herself.

This morning as I sat down to pray about our upcoming week, Breanna's echocardiogram and our meeting with her cardiologist to see where we are at in terms of her next open heart surgery, I read Colossians Chapter 1.

1:27 says "To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of Glory"


Devotional Reading

"This is the mystery we were made to contain: the very life of Jesus. He means to live out the reality of who he is right here within the reality of who we are. He means to be our lives-the breath in our lungs, the thoughts in our heads, the energy and creativity in our jobs, the love in our hearts. He means to take on the stress and unravel the inner complications so that we can move through our lives just as he did, in gentleness and simplicity and harmony.

We were never intended to be more than containers:temples to contain his glory, branches to contain the sap of his life, vessels to contain the new wine of his Spirit. We are the glove; he is the hand. We are the cup; he is the coffee. We are the lamp; he is the light.

This is what we were made for. This is the intended purpose of the human person and personality; not to be gods, but to contain God. This is the kind of unity that was present in the garden but that is sadly missing in this world. It is the sheer simplicity of God's design that was shattered by humanity's sin. And it is the reason that Jesus came and cared and was torutred and killed and laid in a tomb and raised to life again...so that he could give us another shot at being what we WERE intended to be."

As I read this, I can't help but think of my dear friend Chelsa, who today, is giving her testimony in remembrance of the life her sweet, precious baby Andon. She needs our prayers today, as God works through her. Please lift her up in your prayers.

And please pray that we get good news (that Breanna's stenosis hasn't further progressed) at the cardiologist next Tuesday.

God Bless,