Down through the past two thousand years, the story of Jesus, the Son of God, has effect more change in the human race than all the laws ever passed and all the inventions of the human mind put together.
HOW did Jesus Christ, in three short years, forever change the course of humanity?
With a handful of ordinary followers,
AND...
A message
of love and acceptance,
of a kingdom...
A compassion that draws men and women to Him from all walks of life,
A sacrifice of His own life that bridged the gap between man and God.
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The Open Arms Of Love
When the children crowded around Him, He said,
"Let them come unto me..."
With open arms.
When the blind and the lame and the hungry called His
name. He healed and fed them...With open arms.
When the world turned its back on Him and screamed "Crucify!" He didn't run or hide. He let them drive nails in His hands...
With open arms.
While He was dying on the cross and they mocked Him and gambled for His garments, He prayed for the...
With open arms.
When He finished what He had come to Earth to do,
He gave up His spirit and died...
With open arms.
After rose from the grave, He found His friend who had denied even knowing Him, and forgave him...
With open arms.
And when He left this world, He left...
With open arms.
During the twenty centuries that have come and gone, nation has warred against nation, new lands have been discovered, old societies have been conquered, and new ones have risen up in this ever-changing world in which we live.
Yet one thing has never changed...
Through it all, Jesus has given comfort, acceptance, and peace to those who call on Him...
With open arms.
And when His believers' time on this Earth is done, He will welcome us home to a place called Heaven...
With open arms.
Think about the people in YOUR WORLD.
There will be opportunities every ay for you to open your arms...
To the ones you love...
To the strangers you don't know.
They just might see a light in you that will give them a reason to believe in something bigger than themselves...
Someone bigger than us all.
You come from a long line of believers.
Believers in grace,
Believers in joy,
Believers in hope.
In the simplest ways, you can continue the chain of love started so long ago.
And I believe someone will think of you and say...
"I am a mortal
Have been all my life
Will be until I'm gone.
At one time in my life you whispered forever in my ear...
The meaning of LIFE...
The beauty of LOVE...
The promise of HEAVEN...
You told me about a river...the river of life, so that I would never thirst again.
You may have offered only akind word, a Bible verse...a prayer...but my journey would have been more difficult without you.
You may not have known you were doing it.
But I did.
I STILL REMEMBER.
Do you think you've not made much of a difference in this world?
You have in mine. Thank you.
I am a mortal,
One day...
IMMORTAL."
So remember...
You can save another soul
From giving up hope...
From giving up on themselves...
From believing that this life on Earth is all there is.
Maybe you are doing it right now.
Maybe a seed you planted long agohas forever changed the course of someoen's life.
Maybe your greatest moment is yet to come!
When someone's world is crumbling,
YOU can be their rock...
When someone hsa been crippled by the disappointments of life,
YOU can offer healing words of comfort and encouragement...
When someone's self belief has died,
YOU can help bring it back to life.
Draw from that river of life and quench another's thirst for something that lasts forever.
Can you do something of eternal significance?
Yes.
How?
By spreading grace, joy, and hope...
One person at a time
One word at a time
With the open arms of...
LOVE.
