Here is part of an ongoing conversation that is a part of the small group ministry of First Lutheran Church of Jamestown NY. If you would like to join in on the online discussion follow the link to the Holy Conversations Group on Facebook.
Image from the blog Living Hope.
When I think of Jesus, my earliest association with him came from my childhood growing up in Sunday school and church. There was a Christmas pageant that baby Jesus was the literal star of and I was one of the myriad of angels singing "Oh come let us adore him", there was communion in worship where his crucifixion story was told - the emphasis of the entire sacrament was to REMEMBER Jesus.
My childhood was filled to the brim with Jesus and my early religious education made Jesus the face of God for me.
In Mrs. Cartwright's classroom there was a picture of Jesus on the wall where he was surrounded by children from all around the world. I once had a dream where I was seated with Jesus and his full attention was on me. It was a dream that even as a child, I was a little self conscious to tell. After all, in my dream I was having a one-on-one conversation with Jesus. That, I have to tell you made me feel rather special.
When I finally told Mrs. C about the dream, she celebrated the fact. She was wise to encourage my faith in Jesus and in the fact that he loves me and wants an ongoing relationship with me. I think she also made the emphasis that we all have the opportunity to have one-on-one conversations with Christ - in that way all the children in my class were included and I felt less self-conscious in sharing my story with the class.
For me, it is hard to imaging my believing and faith to be in anyone or anything else when it's brought to nuts and bolts. Jesus seems as if he's been walking with me all my life. This is not to say that I've never had any crisis's of faith or doubts along the way - but somehow I always ended up taking to Jesus about those circumstances.
There are a variety of things that people can invest their lives in and many great causes and goals to attain, (goodness, love, hope and so on) but when push comes to shove and the challenges in life are overwhelming - Jesus has been my cornerstone. When everything else runs dry, Jesus is still there for me - and I know it's not just a childhood dream. Jesus is my reality, my hope and my glue in a way nothing else can compare.
Image from the blog Living Hope.
Comments