The Story

In the beginning was a Story.
Story
At first, the Story existed only in the form of an Idea. Then the Author began to tell the Story little by little, within the confines of time.
Creation
As the Story unfolded, there emerged within smaller shadow-Stories, told over shorter spans of time.
These smaller shadow-Stories reflected the same greater Story, yet were given the gift of being allowed to help their Author to write their Story. The shadow-Stories were allowed to choose their own responses to whatever occurred to them while they existed within the greater Story.
Some of the shadow-Stories chose to reflect the greater Story more perfectly than others, to become a more complete shadow, yet all contained the great Story within themselves to some degree.
Stealing
Helping
Many of the smaller shadow-Stories authored even smaller echoes of the greater Story. These echo-Stories were smaller in size, and not all of their authors were aware of their own Author, yet many of the echo-Stories became even more filled with power than were their authors.
The echo-Stories were told to many of the shadow-Stories and, because they were filled with power, were able to stir within the shadow-Stories the Idea that had existed in the beginning.
In the middle of the greater Story, the Author placed Himself.
Christ
He authored Himself to be one of the shadow-Stories, yet He was the most perfect reflection of the great Story. Within this smaller Author-Story was the complete Idea, perfectly written out for all to read.
The smaller Author-Story was the Idea in Word, the most perfect of all the Stories. The other shadow-Stories could look to Him and discover the sort of Story they were written to be.
Within the smaller Author-Story, the other shadow-Stories are able to catch a glimpse of the end of the greater Story. In catching a glimpse of the end, the shadow-Stories are enabled to help write their own Story more perfectly.
For while they do not yet know what each piece of the great Story will bring, the shadow-Stories can know what the end of the Story will bring.
And the wisest of the shadow-Stories will help to write their own Story with the end of the greater Story in mind.
These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.
For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.
“I see,” she said.  “This is still Narnia, and more real and more beautiful than the Narnia down below, just as it was more real and more beautiful than the Narnia outside the stable door!  I see…world within world, Narnia within Narnia…”  “Yes,” said Mr. Tumnus, “like an onion: except that as you continue to go in and in, each circle is larger than the last.”  ~ The Last Battle 
The Last Battle

Art credits: The Creation by James Tissot; Christ with Martha and Mary by Henryk Siemiradzki

Newness and Light

 The people walking in darkness

I once was walking in darkness.

 

I once walked in the darkness of consuming and of my material things.
 
I once walked in the darkness of busyness and self-importance.
 
I once walked in the darkness of anger and impatience.

…have seen a great light 


The Light has dawned and has shone all around me.


 

I now walk in the light of peace and rest.
 
I now walk in the light of love and mercy.
 
I now walk in the light of forgiveness and hope.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. 

 I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

New life.
 
New heart.
 
New spirit.
 
New creation.

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you, I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh 

You were taught…to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. 

Walking in the light of life.

 

Following Him, eyes fixed on the Light, ears attending to the Word.
 
I was walking in darkness and have seen a great light.
 
I live in the land of the shadow of death but, praise be to God, a light has now dawned!
 
Go. Walk in Light.

The Word of God

The Word of God.

God spoke His Word and light exploded out of the dark.


God spoke His Word and our earth was filled with life.

God spoke His Word and law was given as a mirror to show His people their soul-dark, their sin-death.


God spoke His Word

and His Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, Who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

The Word of God.

Sent to us who have walked in darkness to bring us into the grace of His light.



God sent His Word, Himself, in the soft, touchable skin of a baby. His Christmas gift to us.


Joy to the world! The Word has come!


The Word of God. 



Light of lights! All gloom dispelling,
Thou didst come to make thy dwelling
Here within our world of sight.
Lord, in pity and in power,
Thou didst in our darkest hour
Rend the clouds and show thy light.
Praise to thee in earth and heaven
Now and evermore be given,
Christ, who art our sun and shield.
Lord, for us thy life thou gavest,
Those who trust in thee thou savest,
All thy mercy stands revealed.
St. Thomas Aquinas 


May we worship Him alone, our light, our gift, God’s Word.


Jesus.


Merry Christmas to you all.