168 Most Beautiful Butterfly

Meaning: “conveying a significance that is not directly expressed . . .”

Gentle Reader, some may still wish to debate my last blog saying, your two points really mean then that anything that lends structure to the person can actually be enough meaning in life—be it Buddhism, psychiatry, self-help gurus, philosophy, etc.—not everyone wants to fly.

Nope. That’s not the meaning.

People superficially benefit from such support structures, but it is and always will be found true that no bona fide help other than the most beautiful butterfly of the power of grace through Jesus Christ fulfills the potential of the human being.

Only by grace—by the power of His grace through the Holy Spirit—can and will His Christian promises and principles absolutely restore (to better-than-ever condition) the person, the thinking, behavior, emotions, spirit, scruples and virtues, health, future, whatever, in totality, to any human being.

The only hope for that kind of beautiful restoration is forever to be found singularly in Christ Jesus. Scripture taught me this. Scripture has taught others this, making their choice to believe meaningful, their mistakes often-times correctable, their hearts tender and useful, and the people around them the better for it.

If asked, I recommend Christianity to everyone now, and in the strength of Holy Spirit, will every time. In this blog, I share with you the great opportunity (by way of a personal sort-out begun so many years ago) that I was given to become a follower of good and depend on Jesus. It has been my daily journey and will continue to be. It takes time to know and be known, love and be loved.

If you, Gentle Reader, have not chosen to let Jesus recruit you to the shelter of His grace, you can right now.

Just be like me and countless others. Just ask.

I used words that admitted need.

I poured out sorrow over pain and misery I have experienced from or inflicted upon others through arrogant disregard of His desire for me to become a follower of good.

I admitted that He and only He is the embodiment of good and that I want to follow Him, live His Way.

I asked Him for His forgiveness. I asked Him to come to reign and rule in my heart always.

Then I put my trust in the word of Jesus who said: “. . . ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you (Luke11:9, NKJV).”

And it was then I received by grace His forgiveness and began His journey of Restoration: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 5:14, NKJV).”

Today, it is still a daily journey to turn away from my old habits and replace them with His ways by the power of His grace.

And each day, I commit yet again to never stop loving Jesus and desiring an ever-growing personal relationship with Him, regardless of the trials, doubts, fears and discouragement that would defeat me.

Christianity is a great structure for life, Gentle Reader, evidence to that truth abounds all around us, for any caring to notice. Christianity is a great, resilient and rewarding practice for Christians, and potentially for all whose life it touches. It is always a structure that recommends reliable, respectful, moderate, and self- sacrificing behavior in all things. It always recommends thinking and doing the right thing!

Oh, it all is making such sense to me now! It’s just the times we live in that want to persuade us that right is wrong and wrong is right. I get fooled by this tactic regularly, and repeatedly must rely on Jesus to resolve quandaries of my own making. But if you do not, you can too.

And remember, Dear Ones, once found in Jesus, one can never again be irretrievably lost —that’s the power of His grace. That’s the power of asking Jesus to be the one one’s heart can count on forever. Jesus is a lifeline of mercy not just to me but to anyone suffering the misery of this fallen world. His commitment to us is eternal and His love a model of genuine, hard-working and useful love for self and others.

All I and anyone else (including Jasmine, her Mom, Crosby, Wise Brother Adam, even you, Thoughtful Reader) have to do to receive this powerful grace is to recognize the truth of who Jesus is, the peril that lies in errant thinking that excludes Him, the superiority and supremacy of His ways, the supernatural power His grace conveys, and the dire necessity of asking for and receiving it.

To choose to do anything else, Scripture says, is a truly meaningless choice. And I agree.

My Choice.

To be continued . . .