"I say unto you, that I know of myself that whatsoever I shall say unto you, concerning that which is to come, is true; and I say unto you, that I know that Jesus Christ shall come, yea, the Son, the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace, and mercy, and truth. And behold, it is he that cometh to take away the sins of the world, yea, the sins of every man who steadfastly believeth on his name.
And now I say unto you that this is the order after which I am called, yea, to preach unto my beloved brethren, yea, and every one that dwelleth in the land; yea, to preach unto all, both old and young, both bond and free; yea, I say unto you the aged, and also the middle aged, and the rising generation; yea, to cry unto them that they must repent and be born again.
Yea, thus saith the Spirit: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, for the kingdom of heaven is soon at hand; yea, the Son of God cometh in his glory, in his might, majesty, power, and dominion. Yea, my beloved brethren, I say unto you, that the Spirit saith: Behold the glory of the King of all the earth; and also the King of heaven shall very soon shine forth among all the children of men.
And also the Spirit saith unto me, yea, crieth unto me with a mighty voice, saying: Go forth and say unto this people—Repent, for except ye repent ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of heaven."
Alma 5:48-51
Lots of cool things here. I love the atonement of course. Jesus Christ taking away our sins is the single most impactful event in the history of the world, and repentance is the way that we access that gift... belief in it, of course, but also action, because to be cleansed from sin we need to change ourselves, step by step over time, to people who aren't wishing every moment to repeat that same sin. We have to let go of those desires and be willing to give them up to be free of them, and God's plan not only gives us the time and space to get there, but Christ's atonement enables us to be free of our past mistakes. As we are able to change (with support and strength and assistance from God), we are also cleansed, because Christ is willing to take on the burden of our past sins to allow us to walk free as better people now. If we believe in that gift and accept it into our lives by acting on it and being willing to change and let go of the old and start anew through God, he frees us from the pain of the past and leads us to a better place of joy.
I also really love the idea of Christ as King of all the earth. No mere mortal could be trusted with that power, but Christ, the only perfect being to live on the earth, who suffered and died for us, and who understands us better than we understand ourselves... a man and God of infinite love and compassion and strength and beauty and power and pure goodness? Yeah, I'll take it. :) He only is worthy, and he can bring justice, mercy, and perfect joy and peace to this crazy place. I would wish for it to happen today, only I know that I, and we, need some more time to work on ourselves and find our way to his path. His timing will be perfect, and I look forward to it.
Today, let's pray and be grateful for the gift of Jesus Christ, for the chance we have to live and learn and love, and let's repent and do better, walking the Lord's path of joy.
No comments:
Post a Comment