My friend Martha and I have a lot in common — we’re both believers,  we both have an adventurous streak, and we share a truly terrible sense of direction.
We swap stories of amazing feats of getting lost, even when we have a map or phone with an interactive map at hand. 

Most people are better at getting from point “a” to point ”b” than either of us are. However, when it comes to walking the path of life with faith, all people
get confused and turned around along the way. It’s the human condition to misunderstand God’s character when we see injustice or experience harsh circumstances. We may think God is a punishing and cruel overlord or that He just doesn’t care.  It might seem that we’re in a battle of darkness and light and that the outcome is uncertain. 

Fortunately for us, God hasn’t just left us with a map; He sent us his son, Jesus, to help us find our way. The book of Hebrews tells us that Jesus doesn’t just have a family resemblance to God — He is exactly like his father.

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways,  but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.  The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. Hebrews 1:3

I’ve loved God all of my life, but this still comes as a wonderful revelation when I think of it:  God isn’t distant; He cares for us in exactly the same way and to the same degree that Jesus did. Although Jesus lived a fully human life and died a human death, yet he was with God at creation and lives eternally through the resurrection. In Hebrews 1: 10-12, in the NIV, He also says, 

“In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,
    and the heavens are the work of your hands.

They will perish, but you remain;
    they will all wear out like a garment.

You will roll them up like a robe;
    like a garment they will be changed.
But you remain the same,
    and your years will never end.”  

 

That’s amazing!

 When we see or experience injustice and when life is difficult, we can get worn down and our faith and trust in God can waver. It can seem like God either doesn’t love us or that He’s not strong enough to protect us.  I love this passage from John 1 because it reminds me that God’s love, light, and goodness shown through Jesus, are  unimaginably great, and nothing can dim or extinguish them:

 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:4-5

by Sherry Sommer

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