Renee Hawkley In Joy!

The paintings of Jesus are, well . . . paintings. Paintings tell a story or inspire, but they're not real. We may picture Jesus with long hair and dressed in a robe, With multitudes drawn to His countenance. And I wonder. Would I recognize Jesus if He stood in line beside me Dressed in jeans and a t-shirt with cell phone in hand? I'm sure if I recognized Him, it would be For the Light in His face and not for his attire. Because the Light in His face would be real -- Undeniably real, and distinct from all others. But wait. As we choose faith in Jesus, He freely shares His Light with us. And we are called to share that Light Just as we received it. We may never look like Jesus on the outside, But when we share His Light, We start to look like Him on the inside!

I left a Hershey bar in the car on a hot day, and it melted. When I held the package up by its end, I could tell All the magnificent chocolate was oozing to the bottom. I was about to toss it into the garbage when, in a heartbeat, I decided to lay the package out flat in the refrigerator. After awhile, I peeked in and opened it up. And the chocolate had turned back into a Hershey bar! Only the rectangles with "Hershey's" were missing. Then the Hershey bar melted again -- in my mouth. And I loved that Hershey bar as I had imagined I would -- Maybe even more than Hershey bars with fancy rectangles. Because I had come so close to losing the "real thing" Just because the packaging I had expected was missing. But then, in just a second's breath . . . The Hershey bar and I rescued each other! Copyright by Renee Hawkley