what the flu taught me about the Gospel

I had the flu. It sucked.

But today was great. I was able to eat and work and play and laugh and think and pray and read without getting sick or feeling weak. It was awesome. I felt alive again.

And then it hit me. What kept me going through the flu? It was the hope that in a little while I would be better and able to do all things again.

How much greater a hope is put before us in the Gospel?! We spend this life toiling in the weak, crappy, self-righteous flesh. We are never able to be free of it, it is like we are continually sick. And then, the great day of our death or the Lord's return when finally the sickness will end and we'll be free from this wretched awful body.

What a glorious, freeing, rejuvenating thought. May it keep me (and you) going from now until the day we meet Christ face to face.

-joe

a definition for life

Spurred on by my friend Rachel, I have thought back on the year and tried to see how often Christ defined my life.

Sadly, it was not often. Too many times it was my sinful self shining through in the wake of trials, joys and agitations. Only when I was at a breaking point did Christ show up...and by then, His reputation had been severely tarnished.

What defines you? What is it that marks your life for others to see? A love of sports? Music? Literature? Work? School? "Maybe, just maybe" (said like Jean Girard) it should be something else.

I've spent a good portion of the evening contemplating my deficiencies and Christ's supremacy. And that, my friends, is our victory. Let us wake every morning and think "I am a horrible, wicked and sinful person. Ah, but Christ, He is righteous, good and holy and I am defined by Him by virtue of His blood."

When we are focused on those things, then Christ is able to shine through. In our weakness, He is strong.

-joe