Within us

Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.


Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means “God is with us.”
— Matthew 1.23

God does not live in outer space.  The wonder of the Holy Trinity is that God is not only infinite but also incarnate.  God, who is pure love, lives within all loving souls. The birth of Jesus reveals God in human flesh, in human love, in human presence.  And Jesus is not an exception.  God is fully present in all of us in love. “The Realm of God is among you.”

Imagine God, present and loving, within you.  God lives and reigns in your heart. Your soul is the manger in which the Christ child lies, from which he looks upon the world.  Your heart is the throne from which God reigns with unconquerable gentleness and infinitely deep compassion.

As you go through your day today, the whole glory of heaven radiates from within you.  The presence of God gives you life; it is your pulse, your breath, your awareness.  Live in harmony with God's presence within you.  Act and speak in harmony with God's delight in you.  Let every breath be God praying in you.

As you prepare for the coming of Christ, don't think that it's going to be just a sweet baby born one night long ago.  It's God's incarnation—God's inhabitation—in Jesus, and also in us. 

 
How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is given;
so God imparts to human hearts the wonders of his heaven.
No ear may hear his coming, but in this world of sin,
where meek souls will receive him, still the dear Christ enters in.

O holy child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray.
Cast out our sin and enter in; be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel.
— O Little Town of Bethlehem

Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve
 
______________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net