Personal Pondering
by Colleen Spiro
"Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God." (1 John 4:15)
I had heard and read this scripture verse many times before. I love the First Letter of John, especially chapter 4. This is where it says that God is love. And we love because God first loved us. Comforting and meaningful words, they always touch my heart.
But I remember when the words of this particular verse really hit me. The homilist said something to the effect that if we believe that Jesus is the son of God, then that is proof of His existence within us.
You could have knocked me over with a feather.
Proof? I knew it by faith. And that is awesome enough. But I realized, in that instant, that I could only say those words, that Jesus is the Son of God, because God is with me.
Tears came to my eyes. It was a conversion moment. One of those moments that stays with us. One of those moments that we never forget. One of those moments that is hard to talk about or write about because it seems like we are trying to describe air.
I know God is with me, because God gave me the gift to know it.
How awesome is that? |
Jesus Welcomes Us
by Colleen Spiro
"This man welcomes sinners and eats with them." (Luke 15:2)
I once remember
a priest telling us in his homily that we don't go to church because we
are perfect. We go to church because we know we aren't.
In
those years that I was not going to church, I thought churchgoers were
hypocrites. They worship God on Sunday and sin on Monday. I didn't
really get it.
We
go to church because we need Jesus. And we know, no matter how
imperfect we are, on Sunday and every day, Jesus welcomes us and eats
with us. Jesus forgives us and He heals us.
Every day.
Jesus,
this is so awesome. I don't know how else to put it. You love me just
the way I am, a sinner, imperfect, unworthy. I love the story of how
you will leave 99 sheep to go find one that is lost. I love it because
I was lost once. Thanks for finding me.
Amen.
1st published in Simple Reflections |
A Gratitude Journal
"We should not accept in silence the gifts of God, we should return thanks for all of them." St. Basil the Great
Thank you Lord. Thank you for the sun and the wind and the rain. Thank you for the sunset I saw the other day. Thank you for my family. Thank for the gift of life. Thank you for your Love, O Lord. Today and forever.
What are you grateful for today??? Is there something that you would like to thank God for and would like to share? Write to the Editor and put in the subject line - Gratitude. |
Colleen's memoir about surviving child sexual abuse, The Third Floor Window, A True Story of Secrets, Survival and Hope, is on sale at:
