SHARED EXPERIENCES

Well, well, well. We woke up to snow on the ground this morning! What a pleasant surprise it was. Here in Texas snow is always a pleasant surprise as it never snows heavily enough to do much damage (except for the Texas drivers who . . .) On rare occasions it snows enough here that one can go outside and actually play in the snow - things like snow ball fights, building snowmen, imprint snow angels, and even play fox and geese in the snow. Even writing about this makes me wish for more snow.

Life is so fascinating. While one persons circumstances are favorable and all is going well, another person you know is facing hard choices in the midst of difficult circumstances. Currently I have four friends walking through real tough situations (that I know about.) I would say that is about average. We all do our best to hang on and walk through those times knowing that the difficult times do pass. As we walk with our friends through the hard times it always binds our hearts together. It does so in ways that would never occur while walking with a friends only in good times when everything is pleasant.

Shared experiences are wonderful and life fulfilling. Solitary moments can be refreshing (and very necessary) but they are not capable of bringing fulfillment to life. This is the reason Facebook is so popular. We instinctively want to share life with others. Why else do we feel the urge to tell someone about the beautiful sunset we witnessed alone? Why else do people show pictures to you? When traveling in a car and someone sees a rainbow they say, "Look, there's a rainbow." That statement is meant to bring others into a shared experience of viewing something as simple as a rainbow.

Rainbows are meant to be a shared experience. The Bible tells us that God sees the rainbows. Every time we see a rainbow we are sharing an experience with God because he is viewing the same rainbow. This is so like God. It chooses to share our experiences. In the simple things and the complex things, through good times or hard times, he chooses to walk with us - each and every day. Unlike the other gods, the one true God revealed in the Bible is both transcendent and imminent. (This means he is both far above us and yet is very near us at the same time.) God just wants to share himself with each of us. This is so fundamental to God that he even chose to enter our world as 'one of us'. Ah yes, the INCARNATION. That is what this holiday season is all about. Jesus' birth is the INCARNATION. God becoming flesh and dwelling with us. Why? Because he wants to share his life with us! All that God does is aimed at this objective - making it possible for us to share life with him.

The next time you have one of those moments that you "just have to share with someone" remember that God desires the same thing. He has those moments that he wants to share with us. And through those shared moments we become closer than a brother. How cool this is, God and me, God and you, bound together closer than a brother through shared experiences.

Well, the snow is gone now, the green grass is out in its own beauty. God is good so life is good!

Blessings.