http://www.metroi4news.com/2009/12/attentiveness/ Highlighting the News from Florida's Central Corridor Sat, 16 Oct 2010 16:47:55 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 http://www.metroi4news.com/2009/12/attentiveness/comment-page-1/#comment-1358 Cliff Wheeler Sat, 26 Dec 2009 19:28:20 +0000 http://www.metroi4news.com/?p=3782#comment-1358 Very well stated, Craig. Thank you. We truly must meditate on the MIRACLE of Christmas and come to believe it in our own individual hearts before we can begin to convey that joy to others. To think that the Creator of the universe came to man out of mercy , to lower Himself to the status of the ultimate dependency of a newborn in the arms of an inexperienced teenager and poor carpenter "father", to grow up as an exile, to return under threat of the most vicious of rulers, to boldly carry out His true Father's plan, and to accept a fate that we can't imagine, to bear the weight of every man's sin, to be rejected by His Father, to lose all hope as no man truly has experienced, but to rise again for our sake. This is truly the reason there is joy in this time of celebration. If we can just get over the idea that we are owed something special at this time of year or that something more is expected of us at this time of year. If we could just take the time to realize we have been offered the most wonderful gift we could ever hope for---the security not of just hope,but of a promise. And with that gift bestowed upon us there is the ability to extend our love to others and to give them the basics of dignity, companionship, kindness without a price tag (at least not monetarily required). We may not be able to excape the secularity of the season and it's burdens, but we can take on the joy of the reality that has occured in the greatest miracle known to man---God with us("Emanuel") Very well stated, Craig. Thank you. We truly must meditate on the MIRACLE of Christmas and come to believe it in our own individual hearts before we can begin to convey that joy to others. To think that the Creator of the universe came to man out of mercy , to lower Himself to the status of the ultimate dependency of a newborn in the arms of an inexperienced teenager and poor carpenter “father”, to grow up as an exile, to return under threat of the most vicious of rulers, to boldly carry out His true Father’s plan, and to accept a fate that we can’t imagine, to bear the weight of every man’s sin, to be rejected by His Father, to lose all hope as no man truly has experienced, but to rise again for our sake. This is truly the reason there is joy in this time of celebration. If we can just get over the idea that we are owed something special at this time of year or that something more is expected of us at this time of year. If we could just take the time to realize we have been offered the most wonderful gift we could ever hope for—the security not of just hope,but of a promise. And with that gift bestowed upon us there is the ability to extend our love to others and to give them the basics of dignity, companionship, kindness without a price tag (at least not monetarily required). We may not be able to excape the secularity of the season and it’s burdens, but we can take on the joy of the reality that has occured in the greatest miracle known to man—God with us(“Emanuel”)

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