The Sun, to remind us of The Son

Hi C_________,

You always touch me with your letters and your heart.

I think I know what you meant when you said:

"The thing that occurs to me is this: in His service there will always be trials, tribulations, sufferings. Am I always going to whine?! Or am I going to mature to the place that I can rejoice even in fellowship with His sufferings?"

We often have "great expectations" of ourselves. We'd sure like to think that we will eventually mature, finally grow up, and stop sinning (I have this same thing going on) -- but we have a sin nature -- and it is that sin nature that even asks that particular question. It is that little bit of pride in us that still clings to "us being the ones" who are "doing it."

John 6:28-29 ¶ Then they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?" Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."

I am also reminded of a quote by Ravi Zacharias: Jesus Christ did not come to make the bad people good. He came to make the dead people live!

Joh 1:4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

This makes me think of something the Lord revealed to me recently that I shared with my friends Steve and Linda. It is about why we have the sun in the sky.

The Lord recently changed my "picture" of Himself in my mind. I had often pictured the Universe (One+word) with all the vast numbers of stars and planets -- beyond what I could imagine -- with that black background and those many points of light -- and knew that He had created it and I was in awe of Him.

Then He added that "beyond the Universe is God" and where God is, there is only light. (God is light, and in Him is no darkness) So in the picture I imagined I could see the universe, then outside that, was light everywhere -- sort of like seeing the edge of heaven and the edge of the Universe next to each other. And this was amazing to me and I was grateful.

Then a few days after that this idea occurred (lol) to me: God gave us the sun in the sky for light and warmth and He planned it before the foundation of the world. He knew that we would sin, and that He would remove Himself from walking in Eden with us, but He did not want us to be without light and warmth, so he gave us the sun for the day time, and the moon at night to reflect that light as a reminder.

And now it has occured to me that the moon waxes and wanes just like the trials in our lives come and go. But if we keep our eyes on the light that has been shed upon us (Jesus) even in the dark of the moon, we will continue to remain in God's warmth.

Isn't God Good?!! He gave us the sun as a reminder of Himself even before He made the universe and before he walked in the garden and before we sinned and before He separated Himself from us -- so let us look, not at the sun, but at the gift God has given us: Himself

I love you C_____. God has good things in store for you and me. And the way is already prepared -- He thought of EVERYTHING beforehand! He knows the end from the beginning.

Job 35:6 If you sin, what do you accomplish against Him? Or, if your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to Him?

1Jo 2:1-2 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

1Jo 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

We just need to really take every little thing to Him in constant prayer. And then relax in knowing that He is in charge and He has made a place for us -- and He is our Provider. We have nothing to worry about because of His Divine Nature -- because of Who He Is: The Great I AM!!!! Ever Present. Ever Faithful. Ever Complete.

Php 3:12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.

Grateful to be in Christ with you,
Marcia