When Christ set aside his divinity to become a man...SACRIFICE
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:6-8)
Making this sacrifice to provide a way for man to be reconciled to God, our sinfulness being made righteous and the relationship healed...RESTORATION
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18)
A little miracle happened at my parent's house yesterday. One of my nieces has been stretching her wings of independence and spent the last few years finding her own way. This way has not necessarily reflected the values she learned when she was younger, and in the course of recent family history, there has been a lot of pain involved in many hearts. This past year, my niece moved across the country to continue her education.
It looked like another Christmas without the whole family together (which is bound to happen more and more as the family grows up, gets married, moves away...)
Meanwhile, another niece (younger sister, in fact), has been saving her money from a minimum wage paying job at a fast food restaurant. She worked out some details with her sister, got a little help from my parents, and managed to buy a plane ticket for her sister to come back to Oregon for Christmas (remember the spirit of SACRIFICE?)
Unbeknownst to my sister, her daughters managed to pull off this surprise for a remarkable Christmas reunion. In the first moments at the doorstep, as reality began to register, there was not a dry eye as we witnessed this beautiful moment. A moment of RESTORATION.
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:6-8)
Making this sacrifice to provide a way for man to be reconciled to God, our sinfulness being made righteous and the relationship healed...RESTORATION
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18)
A little miracle happened at my parent's house yesterday. One of my nieces has been stretching her wings of independence and spent the last few years finding her own way. This way has not necessarily reflected the values she learned when she was younger, and in the course of recent family history, there has been a lot of pain involved in many hearts. This past year, my niece moved across the country to continue her education.
It looked like another Christmas without the whole family together (which is bound to happen more and more as the family grows up, gets married, moves away...)
Meanwhile, another niece (younger sister, in fact), has been saving her money from a minimum wage paying job at a fast food restaurant. She worked out some details with her sister, got a little help from my parents, and managed to buy a plane ticket for her sister to come back to Oregon for Christmas (remember the spirit of SACRIFICE?)
Unbeknownst to my sister, her daughters managed to pull off this surprise for a remarkable Christmas reunion. In the first moments at the doorstep, as reality began to register, there was not a dry eye as we witnessed this beautiful moment. A moment of RESTORATION.
I don't know what choices my niece will continue to make as she finds her way, but I hope that she knows that she is loved unconditionally.
1 comment:
What a wonderful story and example of sacrifice. Thank you so much for sharing. This story really touched my heart and I need to go get some tissue now.
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