But in your hearts honor Christ the LORD as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect. 1 Peter 3:15.
But you, beloved, building yourself up on your most holy faith…Jude 20.
God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God. Matthew 5:9.
But the LORD is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. 2 Thessalonians 3:3.
And continuing our 351 Old Testament prophecies, promises of God, fulfilled in Jesus Christ, we come to number 176: A Son given – Deity. Isaiah 9:6: For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. And, Luke 1:32; John 1:14; 1 Timothy 3:16: “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the LORD God will give Him the throne of His father David. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was revealed in the flesh, was vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.
We are rewatching the series Picard and last night the character Jean-Luc Picard was trying to explain to another character, why Soji could not understand why a choice she was making, the only choice she thought she could make, was leading to such harm, and he finally said it was “because of a failure of imagination.” And that phrase stuck with me. “A failure of imagination” – for good. Why is it so hard to imagine the best outcome happening, and so easy to imagine the worst happening? Because whether fictional or very real, the same need remains – to imagine the good outcomes and know that they are real and bring hope needed in all our lives. Is our failure of imagination individually or corporately because we cannot grasp the mystery that is so great and with us still? He who was revealed in the flesh, who was vindicated in the Spirit, who was seen by angels, who was proclaimed among the nations, who was believed on in the world, and who was taken up in glory – who, if we are willing, will be as real to us now as He was to them over two thousand years ago when He walked this earth with us. Personal and able to help in ways they could not understand how, because no one is like Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit, but in ways that touched them deeply and stayed with them because He was showing His love for them and His love is what heals us. Can you imagine Jesus Himself looking into your eyes and knowing absolutely everything – and then seeing His love looking at you, transforming everything in you, and enabling you, deep inside right then, to know, really know, that you are His dearly loved? If not – A failure of imagination. One day it won’t be imagined, it will be real.
***THE STRENGTH TO SEEK YOU – O LORD my God, I believe in You, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Insofar as I can – insofar as You have given me the power – I have sought You. I became weary, and I labored. O LORD my God, my sole hope, help me to believe and never to cease seeking You. Grant that I may always and ardently seek out Your countenance. Give me the strength to seek You, for You help me to find You, and You have more and more given me the hope of finding You. Here I am before You with my firmness and my infirmity. Preserve the first and heal the second. Here I am before You with my strength and my ignorance. Where You have opened the door to me, welcome me at the entrance; where You have closed the door to me, open to my cry. Enable me to remember You, to understand You, and to love You. Amen. Augustine of Hippo (AD 354-430).***
