Healing Rays of Righteousness

The Messiah IS Among Us

Although the story is old, happening during the 18^th century, it does illustrate a biblical truth that we who claim to be Christian need to remember and live by. I say this because I often ponder how much it must grieve the heart of God to hear the heated voices of evil divisiveness in almost every religious and community gathering of today. And should it also not grieve our hearts? For, undoubtedly, it is the deadly viruses of stubborn pride, selfishness, and demonic lies that fuel this relational turbulence.

The earthly story:

A beautiful and famous monastery in central Europe had fallen on tough times. In earlier days, its many buildings were filled with young priests and monks, and its big church resounded with the singing of the chant, but now the buildings and church were mostly deserted and silent. Only a handful of monks shuffled through the buildings praying their prayers and praising their God with heavy hear

On the edge of the monastery grounds there were beautiful woodlands, in which an old Jewish rabbi had built a small hut. The rabbi would often come there to fast and pray. And whenever he appeared, the word would be passed from monk to monk, “The Rabbi walks in the woods.”

One day the Abbot, who was the head of the monastery, decided to visit the Rabbi and open up his heart to him regarding the bad conditions at the monastery and seek his advice.

The Rabbi welcomed him into his little hut. In the middle of the room was a wooden table with the Bible laying open upon it. The two men sat down at the table, looking at the Bible in prayerful meditation.

Finally, the Rabbi lifted his eyes and said, “You have come to ask a teaching of me. I will give you a teaching, but you can only repeat it once. After that no one must ever say it aloud again.”  The Rabbi looked straight at the Abbott and said, “The Messiah, the Christ, is among you.” 

For a while there was more silence, then the Rabbi said, “Now you must go.”  The Abbott left without saying another word or looking back, but his mind and spirit were filled with questioning wonder as he returned to the monastery, pondering the Rabbi’s teaching.

The next morning, he called all his monks together. He told them he had received a teaching from the rabbi “who walks in the woods.”  But the teaching is to be spoken only once and never again. Then looking at each of his fellow monks, he said, “The rabbi told me that the Messiah, the Christ is among you.”

The monks were very puzzled by this saying, and from that moment on, they continually pondered the rabbi’s teaching that the Messiah, the Christ, was among them as they lived, worshiped, and worked together as a community of monks.

As time went by a significant and visible change happened among the monks as they began believing that the Messiah, the Christ, was present among them. They began treating one another with incredibly special reverence. And soon, a new spirit of love and appreciation for each other, began to grow and shape their relationships as a community of young priests and monks.

The community outside the monastery soon became aware of this new spirit of love among the monks. People from near and far were coming to be nourished by the prayer life of the monastery community. The visitors were deeply moved by what they saw and heard. And to the delight of many, the big church once again resounded with the singing of the chant.

The heavenly truth:

Through the prophet Zechariah, God said, “Shout and be glad, Daughter Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you, declares the Lord.” (Zechariah 2:10).

Jesus told the questioning Pharisees, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.” (Luke 17:20b-21).

And Jesus promised his disciples, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. …I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. … On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”  (John 14:16,18,20).

Yes, the Rabbi’s words were and are correct. Jesus Christ, the Messiah, is among us and abides in each and all of us. And when we begin to fully understand this truth and its meaning for us, it will significantly reshape our lifestyle and relationship with others. This truth, when lived out in our churches and communities, will cause the presence of God and His Kingdom to gloriously unfold in our world.

Then we will joyfully proclaim with the psalmist, “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! … For there, the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.”  (Psalm 133:1,3b).

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Ray M. Geigley – “Healing Rays of Righteousness” – www.geigler13.wordpress.com – 2/19/25

God’s Valentine Message

Valentine’s Day is celebrated as a day of expressing our love to another. Valentine’s Day is also an excellent day to be reminded that God sends us a most beautiful and glorious love message every day of our lives, and not just on one special day of the year. 

This most amazing love message is found in the fourth chapter of John’s first letter, which he wrote to instruct and encourage the early Christians.   In verse 8, John tells us that “God is love.” And these three little words get to the heart of what John believed about God’s character.  These three little words describe God as pure self-giving love and that he so greatly cares about you and me.

How do we know this to be true?  How can we be certain that “the love of God is greater far, than tongue or pen can ever tell”?  My friend, if you daily walk close with Jesus, you will know it to be true. 

Never has there been a more awesome display of LOVE than on Good Friday, when Jesus shouldered our sins upon himself and carried them to the cross.  And never has there been a more awesome display of the power of LOVE than on Easter morning, when God raised Christ from the dead and he emerged victorious from the tomb.

This is the reality that John points to when he writes in verse 9 that “This is how God showed his love among us:  He sent his one and only son into the world that we might live through him.”  And in verse 10 he adds, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

I fondly remember the bedtime ritual of our small children coming to me for a goodnight kiss. Each time I would say “I love you” and they would respond, “I love you, too, Daddy.”  This bedtime ritual later became our good-bye ritual as they became teenagers and young adults, and continues yet today.

I have no doubt that my children dearly love me.  But I can recall a time when love was not the issue. They needed Mom and Dad.  They were utterly and totally dependent on us.  Their love for us as their parents came later. Their ability to love was and is a “learned” emotion.  And their learning was in response to our enduring, sacrificial, parental love for them throughout their growing, maturing years. 

From the very first sight of our children, the first touch, the first sound of a cry, the first cradling, I was deeply in love with them.  I loved them simply because they were our children.  They did not earn it, and neither did they necessarily deserve it. Furthermore, they expected a lot from us as their mother and dad and were costly in both time and money.  But above and beyond any of that, they were our children.  And nothing they could ever do or become would stop us from loving them.        

Most importantly, while growing up in that steady environment of love, they began to love me and their mother as their parents.  And today, when they say “I love you” we know they speak from their heart, because we now are frequently the recipient of their many acts of love.

In verse 19, John says God’s parental relationship with us is like our relationship with our children.  We love (God) because he first loved us.”  And nothing we could ever do will stop God from loving us.

But there is something more.  As our children grew and matured, year after year, we modeled and encouraged certain expectations of them.  We desired that they would deeply love the Lord Jesus and others, being honest, fair, and kind in all their relationships, becoming like Jesus in every way.

And, it should not surprise us that as God’s children we too are greeted with expectations from our Heavenly Parent.  John believes that the implications of God’s amazing love is clear.  “Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”  (v.11).

If we are experiencing God’s atoning forgiveness and love through Christ, and if we are experiencing God’s love through the indwelling presence of the God’s Spirit, then God expects us to be loving others. “And he has given us this command; Whoever loves God must also love his brother.”  (v.21). There is no wiggle room in that commanded expectation from God.

Echoing the apostle John’s teaching letter, Mother Teresa urges us to “Spread love everywhere you go; first of all, in your own home.  Give love to your children, to your wife or husband, to a next-door neighbor. … Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier.  Be the living expression of God’s kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting.”

SO BE IT, and may your Valentine’s Day be extra special with God’s love spilling over you!

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Ray M. Geigley – “Healing Rays of Righteousness” – www.geigler13.wordpress.com – 2/12/25