Dear Tom:
I look out the window this New Year’s Eve and see the reflection of the nearby mountain in the waters of Lake Lure. It is a scene from a jigsaw puzzle. The unbroken water mirrors every aspect of its surrounding homes, boathouses, trees and hills. I see this natural portrait and need no further evidence that God’s hand is present.
We just celebrated the anniversary of the day people could actually say more than God’s hand was present. They could say that God was present and alive in human form, here on earth, and in their midst. It has been a long time since God was walking and talking along the shores. Yet we still feel his presence. We still long for him. We still call out to him in our pain, loneliness, and fear, and despite his physical absence for 2000 years, he still comforts. Mysteriously, we still experience his love beyond all understanding.
When the child was born the whole course of human history was changed. Whether you believe in Jesus’ divinity or not, it is impossible to conceive how differently world history would have developed if that child had not been born. For millions who have lived since, the birth of the child made possible not just a new way of understanding life but a new way of living life. So for so many of us Christmas’s essential message is that God is with us.
As I look out my window at a small portion of his creation, I ponder his mystery. Who is this God who is with me? I can never fully comprehend him no more than I can look to the sky and comprehend the infinity of space. But as the author of Corinthians says, “I can see dimly.” I am able to catch a glimpse through the glory of nature, and a glimpse through tales of his time on earth, and I see peace.
As the new year begins, I pray that even with my dim vision I too can carry forward a new way of understanding and a new way of living my life.
Your Friend, Webb
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