"The Good Life". Just what is this? The world thinks it knows. Billions of dollars are spent every year by people searching for it. Too bad. Sure, that money supports local and national economies. But, the truth is that the real "Good Life" is available for free! Jesus said, "I came to GIVE life with joy and abundance." [John 10:10].
As we talked about Sunday, this "Good Life" isn't something that only comes in Heaven after we endure a boring life of following strict rules to keep an angry God from squashing us if we ever make a mistake. First of all, the God who says we are dearly loved children, who are forgiven, who are set free, for whom there is no condemnation, and many other wonderful things about us - that is no angry God! That's a loving God who wants our cups to overflow with the "Good Life".
And, the "Good Life" starts NOW! While we wait for Jesus to bring us to Heaven, Jesus wants us to bring a little Heaven down here - to our jobs, to our neighborhoods, to our schools, and even to our church!
If you were paying attention at church on Sunday, you saw this actually happening. And I am so proud of this Spirit-filled, Spirit-led faith family! You truly love one another, and rely on one another, and extend hope and grace to one another in ways that bring joy to our Father.
So, instead of "ranting", as I had planned to do in this note, about all the ways we need to improve on our job of bringing Heaven to earth, and specifically bringing Heaven to our church, let me simply say, "Thank you for showing me a little bit of what Heaven is going to be like. Thank you for blessing my life. I LOVE my church!"
~Shepherd Ambrose Ramsey
