“To love another person is to see the face of God.” Jean Valjean – “Les Miserables”

Our nights seem to already be growing longer and it’s only been two days since the time change.   Add to that the fact that we are experiencing 20 degree temps this morning and you have a recipe for impending winter.  Still, this morning the sun is pouring into my window, giving an illusion of warmth, as remnants of an almost forgotten autumn linger.  Sunlight is like that.  It burrows into the darkest places and gives us hope where there seems to be none.  It sparks a fire that warms the heart and mind, even when the body is cold.

“When souls are weary of this life  – when thoughts of paradise move in,

Dreams of heavenly places light – upon our tattered lives of sin,

Our hearts are filled with thoughts of death – we live as if it’s our last breath,

But enter in the Son of God, – the light that brightly sheds its rays,

And gives to us eternal hope- for every one of our last days,

Reminding us our sins are gone – our lives are saved and will go on.”  Kathy Boecher

All of God’s people have been washed and renewed with the gift of the Holy Spirit. He alone can cleanse us from the sin that assaults us daily. He paid the ultimate price when He sacrificed His sinless Son to take our place – to wash the scum of sin from darkly soiled hearts – to redeem us as a chosen people – to give us new life.

When we forget the cost of our redemption, we are crucifying the Son of God over and over again. There is no other way to salvation than through Christ. Our works cannot take the place of the blood of the Lamb. He is the only One who can wash us clean.

“It is a mistake to imagine that man can exhaust his destiny, or can reach the bottom of anything whatever. Alas! what are all these destinies thus driven pell-mell? whither go they? why are they so? He who knows that, sees all the shadow. He is alone. His name is God.” Victor Hugo