Jesus

So here is the other thing that has been rumbling around in my ponder pot...

...there is nothing but Jesus. We can make it about so many other things but it is quite simply only about Him, all else is distraction; sin. Not to say that all else is evil, or even all else is to be avoided, but that Jesus is what is to be pursued; worshipped. He will lead us into all else good.

Jesus is the "head over everything," he is the Master of all creation. The beauty of this place, from the glorious expanse of the galaxies to the wonderous industry of the insects, life is emmanating from the heart of Jesus. He stands over and above the universe, His arms stretch from the beginning to the end of time. "Through him all things were made," all that is, and was, and will be, flows out of the power and glory that is the Son of the Most High. His light illumines all things, He is our life! His Kingdom pours forth over the earth, a thunder of hope and joy! There is no limit to the "unsearchable riches of Christ," we learn of goodness from him; he breathes Truth into us; beauty is his laughter. He is the Lord over Death, the Lord of Life, the "Lord of the Dance!"

He is the coming King, heralded by a throng of dancing cripples and shouting mutes; accompanied by laughing lepers and addicts-set-free; attended by dead-men-come-alive and prisoners loosed from their chains. He is the joy of widows and the hope of orphans.

Nothing we could imagine in a dream could even hold a candle to what He purposes for our world! This is He who spoke and it was! The one who pours out blessing on the earth, who comforts the greiving heart and silences the evil man; justice is only the beginning of his desires. Jesus is good with an "other-worldly" goodness; a rightness almost painful to behold; his mercy overcomes all evil, his forgiveness knows no boundaries; even the ones who tortured him and then mocked him, spitting on the Lord of Life, only caused Him to love them ever deeper.

We are confronted with this Jesus and we play video games!!!???!?!?!?!

I am appalled at the utter lack of gravity with which we approach GOD!

Nothing compares to who He is. Not money nor power, not sex nor pleasure, not family nor reputation, not companionship nor posterity; even good things, even "christian" things fade in comparison. Our devotion to prayer, or to people, to the church, to the world, to helping the hurting, to ending hunger; all things are less than Jesus. We do ourselves no favor by setting up a new law in the place of the old. We are destined to be daughters and sons of the Father, conformed to the character of Jesus the firstborn over all creation, admonished to "imitate God."

In our pursuit of Jesus we will discover him leading us into his Father's loving presence, into community with our brothers and sisters, and into His mission and purposes in creation; but let us respond to who He is. We do not pursue these things for any other reason than that we have been captivated by the heart of Christ, and this is what pours forth out of that heart.

Our lives are His dream! We do not create our own life, church, community, and invite Him into it; but rather fall in love with Him and join with His People, His Purposes, His Dreams, His Life!

Jesus:

Lord of Life
Lord of the Dance
Hope for the hopeless
Joy for the joyless
Good news to the poor
Freedom to those in bondage
The Firstfruit
Firstborn Over All Creation
The New Man
The Chief Cornerstone
The Accomplishment of the Purposes of God
Boundless in Love
He fills the whole universe
The Fullness of Deity in Bodily Form
The Perfect Execution of the Law
The Second Adam
The Life
Crucified King
Son of God
Perfect Image of the Father
Love
Messiah
Fulfillment of Times
Creator
Alpha and Omega
His arms stretching over all of time
The Truth
The Way
Conquerer ove Sin, Disease, the Accuser, Death, Shame
God in the Flesh
God come Near
Resurection
He takes our burdens upon himself
The Consummation of All Things
The Fulfillment of the Law
The Foundation
The Bridegroom
The Head of the Church
Vulnerbale Divinity
The Curse on Our Behalf
The Action of the Father's Will, the Outworking, the Fruition, the Manifestation
The One who Broke Loose From the Grave
The Centerpeice
Mediator
He Makes All Things New
He is with the Rejects, the Outsider
With the Children
Real Life
Full Life

Jesus