Christ's Role in My Life

It's funny at first to think that someone I've never seen could be the central focus of my life. I mean, seriously, I centre my life around Jesus Christ, His atonement for me, and His example.It seems ridiculous looking in with no shared understanding of the effects Christ can have in a life.

I take comfort knowing I have felt His atoning influence in my life. I am grateful to have often felt the ease of the burden of guilt and shame for my actions. We often think of atonement in the terms of sin, but it covers much more than that. I have felt effects of the atonement for sadness, sickness, depression, and hatred. Truthfully, I have felt it in so many different situations I'll bet it covers everything. At least that's what the scriptures teach, and I'm pretty inclined to believe them.

Even when I'm not in the middle of some trauma, I kneel down and seek the love of the Lord. It comes. He gives it that freely.

When I ponder what Christ endured and overcame I am astounded at the amount of love He has for me. (I do not limit that love to just me, but this is about His influence on me.) His atonement wasn't a finite, calculable experience. It involved infinite suffering and strength to perform. To kneel alone in a garden and take--individually--the sins of each person upon Himself shows more love than I can imagine. In some small way, I have suffered pain for others, usually emotional, but never the full extent of what they feel. never physical, spiritual, mental, emotional, and any other way you might think.

I know it's an act of love that I could not perform. But because He was perfect, He could. Only He could. Only He can help us perfect ourselves. It's something I know. And that knowledge supports me in my times of trial.