So Greg Olsen came this Christmas...
And he shared a story that was actually kind of funny, but I have been thinking about it ever since, and what he truly meant by it when he was speaking. I'm sure you have all seen his painting of Christ holding the little girl in his lap, surrounded by flowers..it's a beautiful painting. When he painted that he used his daughter for the little girl, and they hung it up in her room knowing it would be a comfort to her growing up, and it was.
Well, they had another daughter a couple years later and the two ended up sharing a room. One day in conversation the mother asked the youngest daughter: "Brooke, Do you know that Jesus loves you?" Brooke immediately pointed to the painting and as tears welled up in her eyes, she said "No...He loves Kylie."
When Greg found out about this he felt terrible and wanted to fix it right away. He went to his office and photoshopped the Painting so that Brooke could have an identical one with her own picture in it. When he came home and handed it to her she was delighted. She ran through the house holding the painting in the air yelling, "Jesus loves ME! He loves ME!!!!"
And the thought is...
Is it that easy? Is that all it takes? If we had all grown up with a picture in our minds of Jesus holding us...loving US- not just the people in Bible stories, how might we change? Would we be more apt to maintaining a relationship with him throughout our lives?
In talking to investigators since I've been here, I've heard again and again that the Bible is just a story to them. They express frustration in seeing other people find such peace and joy in religion and scripture, when all they see is a story. It is wonderful to talk to them about the power of prayer, the holy ghost, and how it can become personal for all of us. And that the story of Christ isn't just a story, and it wasn't just meant for the people he healed during his ministry- that his life and atonement was for all of us.
He still lives, and he still loves us, and he will hold us in his arms if we only let him.
Love you.
Well, they had another daughter a couple years later and the two ended up sharing a room. One day in conversation the mother asked the youngest daughter: "Brooke, Do you know that Jesus loves you?" Brooke immediately pointed to the painting and as tears welled up in her eyes, she said "No...He loves Kylie."
When Greg found out about this he felt terrible and wanted to fix it right away. He went to his office and photoshopped the Painting so that Brooke could have an identical one with her own picture in it. When he came home and handed it to her she was delighted. She ran through the house holding the painting in the air yelling, "Jesus loves ME! He loves ME!!!!"
And the thought is...
Is it that easy? Is that all it takes? If we had all grown up with a picture in our minds of Jesus holding us...loving US- not just the people in Bible stories, how might we change? Would we be more apt to maintaining a relationship with him throughout our lives?
In talking to investigators since I've been here, I've heard again and again that the Bible is just a story to them. They express frustration in seeing other people find such peace and joy in religion and scripture, when all they see is a story. It is wonderful to talk to them about the power of prayer, the holy ghost, and how it can become personal for all of us. And that the story of Christ isn't just a story, and it wasn't just meant for the people he healed during his ministry- that his life and atonement was for all of us.
He still lives, and he still loves us, and he will hold us in his arms if we only let him.
Love you.
posted by Unknown at
1:24 PM
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