“We need to tighten the belt, here.” Belt? His words bring to mind the fact I have gained a few pounds—and I need to buy a new pair of jeans.

Always a writer, the following thoughts, recorded back then, were found today in my jammed-packed files:

“Making money stretch seems impossible. The car suddenly needs repairs, a wisdom tooth decides to raise its ugly head, and an insurance premium is due.  It feels like the bills rule, here. 

“I just yelled at my teenager for leaving the front door wide open, cooling the entire house. Dollar signs are seen in red. Then, when asked to drive nine miles out of my way to take a kid home who had stayed overnight, the needle on the gas gauge seems 10 foot tall.

“Good Friday finds me less than in a prayerful mood. Discouragement has come to spend the day. It’s best I stop everything, read some Scriptures and pray. But now, to pick up the phone to stop the ringing.

“It’s my friend, reminding me of this being Good Friday.

 ‘Listen to this,’ she says,’ I found three Scripture for starting this amazing day.’ (She sleeps late.)

“I didn’t hear the second passage or the third, as the first verse struck a bullseye: “The wages of sin are death, but the free gift of God is eternal life.” Yes, everything seems to cost. Expenses do win, sometimes, when push comes to shove. But here, in one short verse I see the Truth. The greatest of all gifts a believer ever receives is the gift of eternal life—and it’s free! Given without a single fee—and tax free! There, simply to be cherished and received.”

Yes. This day we call “Good Friday,” allows us to once again rejoice in what Jesus, our Lord, has done for us. His destiny was known to Him. In a brutal process of being questioned and “tried,” Jesus was given the opportunity to defend Himself before Herod Antipater, ruler of Galilee, and then by Pilate, procurator of Judea. With both, Jesus chose not to protect Himself. He knew by laying down His life for us He would become our Redeemer.

All who ask for forgiveness from sin receive His merciful touch on our lives. Restoration, lasting peace, joy and righteous living result.

Jesus said to look at the way the birds are cared for and to observe how beautifully the flowers are clothed. He promised to provide for us as we learn to trust. Sometimes, I think He looks at me and says, “Hey, you of little faith….” But, there is a smile on His face. Love is felt. When I truly seek to comprehend—it is God’s Holy Spirit living within. Following His lead will see every genuine need is met.

It is easy to become so filled with the temporal—what’s going on every day of our lives—that we cannot “see the Divine.” Yes, there will always be bills, maybe more than can be paid. But fear, frustration and anxiety need not rob us of the peace intended, once we realize how loved we are.

Surely all the little creature comforts and all the things I think are needed will continue to take their hits, but God help me to remember all that is free: sunshine’s warmth . . . a child’s smile .. . a good night’s sleep . . . the love of another . . . my very heartbeat. But the best is yet to come. Eternal life. All because one Good Friday, many lifetimes ago Jesus embraced the pain, the sorrow, the desolation and chose the cross. All because of us—and what we really need: peace and joy in the truth that the Lord Jesus has done so much for us. Undoubtedly, He is going to bring us through!  

Years ago while driving down the road in my vintage wine-colored Monte Carlo—favorite of all my cars—I realized the meaning of “unconditional love.” At the time, I had been married to my husband Gary for 30 years. He is not one who easily says, “I love you.” Yet, he is one who shows it throughout every avenue of our lives.

As a child, my parents’ love was never spoken—yet shown through the ways family needs were provided: the roof over head, food on the table, clothing and supplies for school. Yet, I did not hear, “I love you” from parents striving to make ends meet. Instead, I learned I had “better behave.” The importance of gaining my parent’s good pleasure became eminently important to me. So, doing all possible to gain it, was my childhood quest. The message, “Love will always be here for you,” was not perceived by me.  No. The message that stuck was all about chores, being smart—getting good grades–and behaving. “You had better not mess up!” was the major message.

I did grow into loving, more than fearing, my parents as an adult. But, as a kid, I held more fear of them than any other emotion. Maybe this is normal for a lot of people. Or, maybe most children are hugged daily and told, “I love you.” We only know our own experience.

Finding love of any kind in life’s journey is the highest of all quests, finding unconditional love is a pinnacle that I dare to say few truly reach.

Our early experiences within childhood, are brought into our marriages. In my first marriage at age 17, right out of high school, the honeymoon was short. It was however, a brief experience of being adored. Whoa. That was a first. Yet, within only a number of days, I knew the hand of authority was back. The old fear of not being enough or good enough was fully felt. This lasted eight years . . . eight years of figuring out that living in constant fear was no way to live. So, the only healthy choice was to leave. The soul ripping process of divorce became inevitable for the sake of safety and sanity.

Four years later, I started dating Gary, I knew he was different from any one I had ever met, yet my early programming was so linked to “pleasing” others that I had an unspoken fear of “when is the heavy hand going to come down on my back.” Yet, that never happened. Still, that inner angst was there… expecting the worst. So, that day after 30 years of marriage, while driving down the road, I realized something about God that was actually happening in my life: unconditional love! Who knew it existed—and is real?  Finding it in a human form through Gary, allowed me to comprehend the magnanimous love that He has for us. I remember the day so clearly, while driving, when the realization came: Gary only saw me as good. My flaws, well—flaws happen. He looked beyond those. Then, I remembered something my father said after having a dream.

Dad experienced a scar-filled childhood. He, too, feared his father throughout life and was sure “that guy” would not be in heaven. Although, during his later years my grandfather had changed and was in church every Sunday.

As my father was nearing death he shared a dream in which his mother and father  were walking arm-in-arm into a huge banquet room—in heaven. He knew it was heaven, but he couldn’t believe his Dad was there. Then, within the dream Dad heard these words, “I only see the good.” Voila! Here is love—unconditional love. And, this is the message God has for us.

And, this is the truest and greatest gift of Christmas. God looked past the sin, the brokenness of this world, and sent His Son to save us from ourselves. Left alone, there would be no eternity with God for any one of us. But, Jesus came to us, knowing He would shed His blood to cover the tab for our mis-steppings, and all the grossness that comes through the human race’s self-importance and self-adoration. Now, through Him, God sees “price paid” as He cherishes His children. It is the all-pervading, all accepting love of God that has provided this truth for God’s children: He only sees the good!

Here is an amazing truth from John 1:5, 12, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” Now, for verse 12 of John 1, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.”

What a difference it makes to grasp this truth. For, it is the truth of God’s unconditional love that empowers and impassions those He calls—and we know when that call comes!

By Chaplain Joy Le Page Smith, MA

People chose evil due to doubting God and thinking their way is better–not caring what God would want or even caring what the conscience is saying. The conscience can be burned away through constantly choosing to ignore it. Eventually, it quits talking.

There is an enemy of our souls. He works through our lusts and cravings telling us we are entitled to have what we want and to do as we please. It is not that we lose our souls through making wrong choices. The Lord is our Shepherd. He has a hold on us, even when we make horrible choices. The danger of losing one’s soul comes when we determine that God has no place in our lives and that we will live it just as we wish. Given enough time on that path, common sense gets lost and love for others bleeds off. Many have reversed that course by turning to God and asking for forgiveness. This is what it means to say “the soul is saved.”

Murderers, rapists, drunkards, robbers and addicts who persist have in their ways give over their souls to one who is out to kill and destroy. A person may hardly notice they are cooperating with the schemes of the devil who hates God’s people. It is a gradual process. At any point they can turn to God.

The story of Genesis portrays God extending beautiful intimacy with the humans He created. All was well until Satan got Eve, and then Adam, to doubt that God knows best. Once that lie was accepted, these two took the next step: believing that God was keeping something good and blessed from them. Firmly planted, this lie took hold and resulted in a great loss for them–even the loss of eternal life.

God’s intention was for them to live forever in the beautiful place He created for them. This was lost, as they could not live forever. Now, they would know death. Meanwhile, everything would not be given to them; they had to earn their bread through hard labor. What joy comes through seeing the full truth! An amazing part of the story of Adam and Eve is that God still has them firmly in the grasp of his love, even after bad choices cost them so much.
Sorrowfully, their intimacy with God was cut short. The light of God which surrounded and enfolded them was gone, replaced by the darkness their disobedience brought. They now stood naked before God. Love prevailed, as God makes coverings for Adam and Eve. God’s mercy causes Him to slay animals so their skins can clothe His loved ones.
This is a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ who would come to the earth, in due time, to lay down His life for all humanity. Through His teachings and his actions, Jesus portrayed the heart of His Father to us and showed us God’s will. The core of Christian truth is that Jesus sacrificed His life for us, and that His very own blood was shed to cover our sins.
All of us will encounter countless temptations in this life. We can yield, if we want, as God has given us the great gift of free will. Or, we can surrender our lusts and our cravings–our prideful desires for amassing wealth or having power and control over others. Another choice is to keep our hearts ensconced in Scripture and bath our lives in prayer, seeking God’s will for our lives. In this way, God, our Creator, will be at the center of our souls. We can walk clean knowing that through Christ’s offering of His blood to cover and redeem us from our sins, we are lifted out of our failures. It is through our trust in Him that we can be whole, free from the entrapments the enemy of our soul weaves around our feet. (James 4:7 instructs us well: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”)
It is astounding, even hard to grasp, once we know that Jesus chose to die for us. The whole scene could have been different. For when the Roman soldiers came to arrest the Lord, Peter decided to help Him escape. Jesus quickly stopped Peter, saying, “Put your sword back in its place. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and He will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matt. 26:52-53) In view of so great a sacrifice make for our eternal benefit, is it so hard to study Scripture in order to truly know–and hold in mind–what He has taught? Doing so will see us resisting pride-driven desires and selfish reasoning.
Knowing that God loves us against all reason, gives us the power to resist the temptations that perpetually come our way. This creates a longing in us to follow God’s will. This very longing is initiated within us by God–through the Holy Spirit.
It is a fact that when we read the teachings of Jesus Christ day-by-day, loving and serving the Lord becomes our foremost desire. And, as we continually yield to God, His will is portrayed through our lives. It is certain that once we have set our will to belong to Him, God will not let go of us. Our souls are safe.