Up the Sunbeam

-- His name is synonymous with BETRAYAL, his life an emblem of greed, ambition, and cold-hearted, self-serving treachery. Unwilling to adjust his expectations of how life should be, he chose bitterness in response to disappointment. Ultimately, when faced with his own wickedness, he chose to take his own life rather than to bow at the foot of the cross he so despised. JUDAS. "As soon as Judas had taken the bread, h e went out. And it was night." John 13:30 NIV It was as dark as night within the heart of Judas too. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ HIS name is Love. HIS name is Way, and Truth, and Life. HIS name is I AM , Word, Lamb, Light! His life is the the exact representation of God. Despite all that, rather than to cling to the privilege of Deity that was rightfully His, in humility, He gave up all His expectations and chose love in the face of betrayal. Humankind had betrayed Him, first in the Garden, th en all down through history, to the very moment when Judas betrayed ...

-- Grace is not our native language. In our development from infancy onward, it's clear that we are neither graceful nor gracious at birth. Our first attempts at moving our ungainly, head-heavy bodies from one place to another are clumsy and peppered with tumbles and crash landings--no, we are NOT naturally graceful. When my daughter was little, I saw in her pediatrician's office a poster listing the "Toddler Rules of Possession": 1. If I like it, it's mine. 2. If it's in my hand, it's mine. 3. If I can take it from you, it's mine. 4. If I had it a little while ago, it's mine. 5. If it's mine, it must NEVER appear to be yours in anyway. 6. If I'm doing or building something, all the pieces are mine. 7. If it looks just like mine, it is mine. 8. If I saw it first, it's mine. 9. If you are playing with something and you put it down, it automatically becomes mine. 10. If it's broken, it's yours. I laughed out loud...