Jesus became like I am so that I could be like I AM

The Word for today:
Philippians 4

mark this:  Philippians 4:8
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.
& this:  Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.


"I think, therefore I am."  

That's not how it works for me.

I'm aware of existence because the wind nearly stood me up when I ran yesterday; because my wife's new haircut sent a tingle all the way from my eye to (and through) my heart this morning; because when I baptized Ernie, and Carol, and Eddy this morning, the water was warm.  It was perfect.  I didn't want to get out of the tank.

None of this involved any thinking.
For me, it would be much closer to the truth to say, "I think, therefore I am not."  When I start to think, dark things float across my eyeballs, my windows, my rear-view mirror.  Especially my rear-view mirror. 

Thinking reminds me that I am not tough enough, or young enough, or smart enough, or kind enough.  I think that others wish me ill, that situations are stacked against me, that the odds are long, and that the wind is ever in my face.  I think, therefore I am not.

If you've gotten this far and you've guessed that I'm now going to launch into some warm fuzziness about positive thinking, then you don't know me.  You'll find none of that here.  This might shock you, but the facts are these:
I am not tough enough.  I am not young enough.  I am not smart enough.  I am not kind enough.  I am trapped within these real limitations.

But I found my way out, and here it is:

I think, therrefore I am.  I think about the great I AM.

"I AM" is Jesus' name before he emptied himself (remember chapter 2 of Philippians) and became the baby in Bethlehem, who grew into the man who went to the cross.  If you read the 3rd chapter of Exodus you will know all about I AM.

The Bible is I AM's autobiography.  So when I think about the great I AM, I try to think about everything in scripture that I can understand.  But it's a big book, and when the whole of it is just too big for me, I turn to the briefest biography of Jesus that ever was written:
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. (Philippians 4:8)

The way out of our limitations is to remember that Jesus, who is portrayed by those words, died our death so that we could live his life.

When Alice was baptized today, she told us that Philippians 4:13 is her favorite verse--
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

She has overcome real loss in her life because the great story of the Bible is this:
Jesus became like I am so that I could be like I AM.