--WHAT LOVE!

--"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." --[John 8:36/NIV)

--WE LIVE NEXT door to the church we pastor. When our mid-western weather is either too muggy or frigid to walk outside, we exercise in the sanctuary. Three days ago, a visitor joined us.

My husband, Kevin, and I had barely started walking when we heard skittering sounds overhead . "Uh-Oh, a bird is stuck between the roof and the ceiling, "I said. We hauled the ancient eight-foot ladder up from the basement, and Kevin placed it under the ceiling tile where we'd heard the noises. He removed a tile, peering inside the opening. No bird.

Four times we moved that ladder--it grew heavier each time--and four times Kevin removed a new tile, trying to free the bird. I began to worry. Was it worth my husband falling and breaking his bottom, or worse, to save a silly, lost bird?

Finally the bird flew out and flapped around the sanctuary, trying to escape. I opened both front doors. Bur our feathered friend was so scared, it couldn't find its way to freedom. Kevin got the idea to trap the bird with the long-handled baptistery cleaning net. After I secured the bird, Kevin gently held it in his hands and released it into the bright day.

While I finished exercising I thought, That poor helpless bird reminds me of me. All the messes I've created. All the times I've found myself trapped in sin or silly blunders. Flapping around, scared, and looking for a way out. Forever merciful, Jesus goes to great lengths to rescue me. He never rebukes or scolds me. Instead, He gently sets me free to soar again. Oh, What love! 'GOD IS LOVE! '
--"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." --[John 3:16]

--Guideposts/JL~