all our senses
My orchids are re-blooming. Some sending up a tiny new shoot, while others have seven gorgeous blossoms. I sip my hot tea, cradling the mug in my hands, looking out on a cold and snowy day. What are my senses telling me about the world?
We announce to you what existed from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have seen and our hands handled, about the word of life. 1 John 1:1 (CEB)
John reminds us of the physicality of our faith. Engaging our senses to make sense of our lives. Considering the beginning, and the creation, and God’s pronouncement of goodness. John melds eternity and life and experience- the mystical and the everyday.
The life was revealed, and we have seen, and we testify and announce to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us. 1 John 1:2 (CEB)
What revelation have you experienced? A truth that was in heaven, that you have seen, to which you now testify? The beauty of orchids. A grandbaby. The way a cat purrs on your lap. Art that moves you or causes you to be still. Friendships, deeper and longer than imagined. To laugh, to play, to wake in a warm bed and be grateful.
What we have seen and heard, we also announce it to you so that you can have fellowship with us. 1 John 1:3a (CEB)
I encourage you to share your joy. Increase your fellowship with others by speaking of what you have seen and heard. The everyday and the eternal, intertwined. A text, a card, a phone call. An invitation for coffee or a walk or a Zoom happy hour. More connection is what we need. More fellowship.
Our fellowship is with the Father and with God’s Son, Jesus the Messiah. We are writing these things so that our joy can be complete. 1 John 1:3b-4
This isn’t a social club. Our center is God; our focus is Jesus. Our joy is incomplete without each other- without sharing what we have seen, heard, and touched.
May our fellowship with God and with Jesus the Messiah overflow into all that we say and touch. May you share what brings you joy, and may that sharing fill you full to completeness. To another year, a new year, in God’s presence following Jesus together. –Renée