February 2025
My Greatest Blessings
11 February 2025 @ 09:36
My greatest blessings have been found in the church. Which church is that you may ask. The Church of Jesus in the sick; the Church of Jesus in the Homeless; the Church of Jesus in the hungry; the Church of Jesus in the imprisoned; the Church of Jesus in the oppressed; the Church of Jesus in the victims of war and the list goes on and on.
I have seen Him in the eyes of the first wave of children diagnosed with AIDS. I have seen Him in the eyes of the mother whose child is critically ill and in the eyes of that child as well. I have seen Him in the eyes of the dying. I have seen Him in the eyes of the lonely and forlorn. I have seen Him in the eyes of a young woman who no longer wants to live. I have seen Him in the eyes of orphans. I have seen Him in the eyes of the first refugees who I had contact with after Putin began bombing Eastern Ukraine in 2015. I have seen Him in the eyes of the survivors of Auschwitz and Birkenau as I marched with them from one of those camps to the other being reminded that we can never forget about the evil that man is capable of. Unfortunately, it is becoming ever harder to see Him in our churches where we gather based on our own thoughts of self-righteousness. There is nothing in me that is righteous. God loves me as I am and not as I should be.
When I go to church it is to worship Him and to give Him thanks that He would use even me but I much prefer spending time with Him in those places where He said we would find Him. It is there where I have found the greatest of blessings. It is when we are about His work.
Jesus tells us, "as you have done it unto the least of these you have done it unto me."
Woe be to those who chose the institution, whether it be the church or the state with its political leaders, over Him.
— Woody
I have seen Him in the eyes of the first wave of children diagnosed with AIDS. I have seen Him in the eyes of the mother whose child is critically ill and in the eyes of that child as well. I have seen Him in the eyes of the dying. I have seen Him in the eyes of the lonely and forlorn. I have seen Him in the eyes of a young woman who no longer wants to live. I have seen Him in the eyes of orphans. I have seen Him in the eyes of the first refugees who I had contact with after Putin began bombing Eastern Ukraine in 2015. I have seen Him in the eyes of the survivors of Auschwitz and Birkenau as I marched with them from one of those camps to the other being reminded that we can never forget about the evil that man is capable of. Unfortunately, it is becoming ever harder to see Him in our churches where we gather based on our own thoughts of self-righteousness. There is nothing in me that is righteous. God loves me as I am and not as I should be.
When I go to church it is to worship Him and to give Him thanks that He would use even me but I much prefer spending time with Him in those places where He said we would find Him. It is there where I have found the greatest of blessings. It is when we are about His work.
Jesus tells us, "as you have done it unto the least of these you have done it unto me."
Woe be to those who chose the institution, whether it be the church or the state with its political leaders, over Him.
— Woody