Come Follow Me - Matthew 1; Luke 1
Impossible Atonement
I never expect to understand the atonement in this life.
I can understand how One can be so good as to lay down their life for someone else.
I can understand why we would need a Savior.
I cannot understand how His death satisfies the eternal law of judgment through mercy.
So perhaps it is the laws of eternity I do not understand, not the atonement itself.
"With God nothing shall be impossible"
Anytime I read about touching the heart of an unresponsive family member, I think of my brother and how long he has stayed away from the church. How long he wasn't just not going to church, but he was actively choosing a lifestyle against the teachings of the church and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
It is not impossible that he will come back one day.
His heart has softened.
I am not sure what it is that will bring him back, but I know that our Father in Heaven knows and if I were to reach out to Him with real intent to act in faith on the answer I receive, He would give me the answer.
**I am afraid and that is something I need to work on this year.
God’s blessings come in His own time.
It is very easy to see that others must wait for blessings and to have faith in the face of someone else's trial.
I think of my sister-in-law and her wait to find a husband.
She was single for so long and at times bitter about her singleness.
And yet, now that she has found a partner, can she not see that her patience was worth it? Would she have wanted to have found someone else if it would have been faster?
When I was younger I was bitter about being alone and I was 10 years younger than she is right now.
I remember walking around campus late at night crying, praying, and pleading to find someone. Anyone.
I could not understand why my desires would not be met. I thought they were righteous. I thought they were what he wanted for me.
But now that I am married and have two wonderful children I could not be more appreciative for my wife. She has made me a better person and I make her a better person.
The question "What do you feel the Lord expects of you while you wait [for a blessing]?" is a difficult one.
He expects me to be better, not bitter.
He expects me to have faith, not fear.
He expects me to work towards the blessings that I seek, rather than merely waiting for Heaven's windows to open.
This last point has always been one of my greatest weaknesses.
I have a hard time with creating and working towards goals. I have never done it. And I always have so many excuses and so many Plan B's, that I almost guarantee my failure from the beginning, and any success along the way I can just as easily pass off as happenstance.
**This is something for me to work on as well.
Luke 1:5-25, 57-80
Why are people always afraid when angels appear? Is it a startled form of fear, a judgment of the wicked form of fear, or a horror form of fear.
I assume it is the second meaning.
If an angel were to appear before me at this point in time, I feel I would not be worthy to be in it's presence and that may cause me to fear some.
Once Zacharias is no longer stricken dumb, it almost sounds like he is giving a father's blessing or a patriarchal blessing to his son prophesying of his life's mission,as it was given to him.
The faithful willingly submit to God’s will.
The angel's words to Mary
The Lord is with thee
Message for me
The Lord is aware of my situation and struggles
Mary's reaction
How shall this be?
Message for me
It's OK to ask question when I don't understand.
You do not have to accept God's will blindly. If you do not understand, ask.
He wants us to know Him and to know His will. This is why we have the scriptures, prophets, and are admonished to pray always.
There was also no hesitation from the Mary after she learned the truth. She was told something. She asked a question. She got an answer. She willingly accepted it.
Mary testifies of Jesus Christ’s mission.
The Spirit speaks a hard truth to me as I read Luke 1:46-55, 1 Samuel 2:1-10, and Matthew 5:4-12, and that is that the Lord does what He wants.
We may not understand the significance behind it in this life, or we may be blessed to see the bigger picture.
We may have good things. We may have bad things.
This life will not be fair.
Those truths are not comforting to anyone.
But the faith that we hold out for the life after death is what makes it ok.
I can absolutely understand why someone would look at that philosophy and not understand it if they did not have faith and if they had not received a witness of that faith.
And for those of us that DO have faith I think when we look at the Lord's beatitudes, we focus a lot on the good that will come and gloss over the pain, sorrow, and suffering that He promises will come before it.
We may even go down the trail of thinking...
I have mourned, so I will be comforted.
We do not know the depths of mourning that we must endure before we will be comforted.
We should not feel entitled to these blessings.
Surely there is someone who has mourned more than you and I.
Just because I have suffered a little does not mean that I will not suffer anymore.
It means that I will not suffer anymore someday, but that day will likely not be in this life.
**To not feel entitled to the Lord's blessings is something I can work on.
Matthew 1 (Jesus' Lineage)
Jesus' lineage is an interesting line if you know the history of the individuals that are mentioned. Since we covered the Old Testament in Gospel Doctrine this last year and I taught Gospel Doctrine, I can remember most of these individuals:
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - Easy. You would expect a Savior to come through that line, as they are the covenant people.
Judah - Also makes sense, as those of the tribe of Judah were also the covenant people and whom a large chunk of the Old Testament is written about and written for.
Then you have a couple generations of nobodies.
And I don't mean that in a derogatory way, I just mean that they have relative little importance on the course of history other than they were lineage of the Savior and had a number of interesting events happen in their lives (especially Ruth & Boaz).
David - THE David. Like David and Goliath / King David. This guy has a TON of significance (which I won't expound on here) but the interesting thing about David being in this lineage is which of his wives and/or concubines Jesus comes through, and that is Bathsheba.
The Son of God comes through a lineage of sin. And not just any lineage of sin, but like...THE lineage of sin.
If you think about adultery, you think about David and Bathsheba.
Like...the reason that David lost the covenant.
Kind of a big deal, people.
Solomon - Similar to David. Phenomenal leader for a time, but ultimately throws it all away for worldly pleasures. David at least sought to repent in his time.
Then you have a couple generations of leaders some of which are good, most of which are bad.
Then more nobodies...
Joseph - Who we don't take to be the literal father of Jesus, but was not a king in a worldly sense as many generations back for him were, but rather a simple carpenter.
If you were to imagine the lineage of a great king, you would likely imagine that he would come from a line of kings.
While there was a period of kings in the Savior's lineage, he was born far from that. Basic parents. Basic upbringing (as far as we know). Nothing special about his earthly lineage (and not even a lineage free of scandal).
We, too, have interesting histories, all of us. If you search long enough everyone has interesting stories in their past. Many of us also have royalty somewhere along the way!
Yet the only two things that define us are:
-Who our Heavenly parents are
-Who we choose to be
The Savior had a Heavenly Father.
We also have a Heavenly Father.
The Savior chose to be a perfect sacrifice to atone for all of our sins.
We can choose to be like our Savior. Not perfect in this life, but always striving to do our Father's will.
**I will work on not letting my history define who I am
Once Zacharias is no longer stricken dumb, it almost sounds like he is giving a father's blessing or a patriarchal blessing to his son prophesying of his life's mission,as it was given to him.
The faithful willingly submit to God’s will.
The angel's words to Mary
The Lord is with thee
Message for me
The Lord is aware of my situation and struggles
Mary's reaction
How shall this be?
Message for me
It's OK to ask question when I don't understand.
You do not have to accept God's will blindly. If you do not understand, ask.
He wants us to know Him and to know His will. This is why we have the scriptures, prophets, and are admonished to pray always.
There was also no hesitation from the Mary after she learned the truth. She was told something. She asked a question. She got an answer. She willingly accepted it.
Mary testifies of Jesus Christ’s mission.
The Spirit speaks a hard truth to me as I read Luke 1:46-55, 1 Samuel 2:1-10, and Matthew 5:4-12, and that is that the Lord does what He wants.
We may not understand the significance behind it in this life, or we may be blessed to see the bigger picture.
We may have good things. We may have bad things.
This life will not be fair.
Those truths are not comforting to anyone.
But the faith that we hold out for the life after death is what makes it ok.
I can absolutely understand why someone would look at that philosophy and not understand it if they did not have faith and if they had not received a witness of that faith.
And for those of us that DO have faith I think when we look at the Lord's beatitudes, we focus a lot on the good that will come and gloss over the pain, sorrow, and suffering that He promises will come before it.
We may even go down the trail of thinking...
I have mourned, so I will be comforted.
We do not know the depths of mourning that we must endure before we will be comforted.
We should not feel entitled to these blessings.
Surely there is someone who has mourned more than you and I.
Just because I have suffered a little does not mean that I will not suffer anymore.
It means that I will not suffer anymore someday, but that day will likely not be in this life.
**To not feel entitled to the Lord's blessings is something I can work on.
Matthew 1 (Jesus' Lineage)
Jesus' lineage is an interesting line if you know the history of the individuals that are mentioned. Since we covered the Old Testament in Gospel Doctrine this last year and I taught Gospel Doctrine, I can remember most of these individuals:
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - Easy. You would expect a Savior to come through that line, as they are the covenant people.
Judah - Also makes sense, as those of the tribe of Judah were also the covenant people and whom a large chunk of the Old Testament is written about and written for.
Then you have a couple generations of nobodies.
And I don't mean that in a derogatory way, I just mean that they have relative little importance on the course of history other than they were lineage of the Savior and had a number of interesting events happen in their lives (especially Ruth & Boaz).
David - THE David. Like David and Goliath / King David. This guy has a TON of significance (which I won't expound on here) but the interesting thing about David being in this lineage is which of his wives and/or concubines Jesus comes through, and that is Bathsheba.
The Son of God comes through a lineage of sin. And not just any lineage of sin, but like...THE lineage of sin.
If you think about adultery, you think about David and Bathsheba.
Like...the reason that David lost the covenant.
Kind of a big deal, people.
Solomon - Similar to David. Phenomenal leader for a time, but ultimately throws it all away for worldly pleasures. David at least sought to repent in his time.
Then you have a couple generations of leaders some of which are good, most of which are bad.
Then more nobodies...
Joseph - Who we don't take to be the literal father of Jesus, but was not a king in a worldly sense as many generations back for him were, but rather a simple carpenter.
If you were to imagine the lineage of a great king, you would likely imagine that he would come from a line of kings.
While there was a period of kings in the Savior's lineage, he was born far from that. Basic parents. Basic upbringing (as far as we know). Nothing special about his earthly lineage (and not even a lineage free of scandal).
We, too, have interesting histories, all of us. If you search long enough everyone has interesting stories in their past. Many of us also have royalty somewhere along the way!
Yet the only two things that define us are:
-Who our Heavenly parents are
-Who we choose to be
The Savior had a Heavenly Father.
We also have a Heavenly Father.
The Savior chose to be a perfect sacrifice to atone for all of our sins.
We can choose to be like our Savior. Not perfect in this life, but always striving to do our Father's will.
**I will work on not letting my history define who I am
Comments
Post a Comment