CP 201 Undoing my worst enemy

CP 201 Undoing my worst enemy

Year’s end. Christmas. Not much time to think, but essential to reflect. Been undone many times. Behaved badly… many times. Self-disgust and self-contempt. The heart-store finds expression in the shelves of life. In the shelves of relationships. Not pretty. No, not pretty. Ugly beyond words. The spirit IS willing…BUT… the flesh IS weak. Torn. Torn between the image of God and… the image of Adam. The heart a divided world. Brought undone many times. Undone by self. Undone! “Who will deliver me from this body of death? The constrained journey to the throne room. Again. And again. Again and again.

 Mercy needed. Mercy and forgiveness found. Fresh hope, renewed life. Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord. The Lord of CrossPurposes still speaks. Always willingly speaks.

Fresh discovery. Not restored self-esteem as much as… restored Christ esteem! Christ! “Christ, the visible expression of our God.” From eternity, forged in history, and for eternity, a new identity. I am who I am IN Christ. In Christ. Imago Christi!

How was this possible? An ancient poet speaks to the heart:

That the great angel-blinding light should shrink
His blaze, to shine in a poor shepherd's eye;
That the unmeasured God so low should sink
As prisoner in a few poor rags to lie; milk should drink,
Who feeds with nectar Heaven's fair family;
That a vile manger his low bed should prove
Who in a throne of stars thunders above.

That He whom the sun serves, should faintly peep
Through clouds of infant flesh: that He the old
Eternal Word would be a child, and weep;
That He who made the fire should feel the cold;
That Heaven's high Majesty his court should keep
In a clay-cottage, by each blast controlled:
That Glory's self should serve our griefs and fears:
And free Eternity submit to years.

Richard Crashaw

O come, let us adore him. O come, let us adore him.

Christ the LORD.

May your Christmas celebration be outrageously merry!  FRED