+JMJ+
Living with Jesus has opened up life to me in a way I never imagined. First, there is the pure joy of loving Him, which, once you discover Him, you will do, because you cannot help it. His tenderness and love make you love Him: being loved the way He loves you is irresistible, because you have never before experienced anything like it. Total acceptance. Total forgiveness, no matter what you have done or will do. Total freedom to really be yourself at last.
Then, there is the newly-found"wideness" of the world. You used to think that there was nothing but what you could touch, see, hear or feel--but you were wrong. There is another dimension that is indescribable, and yet palpable, once you have opened yourself up to Him. Jesus is really there, right there, with you, and you will know it once you start learning to pay attention to what is beyond your senses... and yet, what nevertheless can be sensed in some way you can't explain.
After a time being with Him and knowing Him--if you decide you really want to give Him everything you have and to devote your life to Him--there comes the profound joy of doing what you know He wants you to do, which is simply loving, loving, loving others to the maximum degree possible... because in loving them, you are loving Him--and you adore Him so much, that is what you want to do, because it brings you so much joy! You are not doing it because you have to, or because you hope to get a reward either on earth or in eternity... no, you do it simply because you love Him so much, you don't care anymore about any other reward than the joy of returning His love by loving your neighbor. When He prompts you in your heart to be generous or kind, but you think you are too tired or too busy to do what He asks, nevertheless you trust Him and do it anyway-- and the joy you get makes you forget you were ever tired or busy, and you find yourself thanking Him for asking you, because loving as He loves makes you feel wonderful!
Every day of your life now is a new adventure, because you have no idea what He will ask of you today, but you know you will learn and grow from it, and it is thrilling to see and feel your heart expanding to encompass even more love, filling you with an almost unbearable ecstasy. You will even find joy in the things that are hard or unpleasant or painful, because you know they have meaning beyond this world, because He shares all of them with you: He is right there bearing them with you, and He understands exactly how you feel as no one else can.
There is a sense of sublime peace in your heart because you know you are part of something huge and eternal that goes far beyond the universe you know, and this new plane of existence on which you live will never end, even when you die--it will just get better because at last you will fully understand your place in all of it, all that is beyond human history and beyond human understanding. It is a longing we all have whether we admit it or not, which cannot be fulfilled any other way than by living in Jesus, giving yourself totally to Him--all that you are and all that you have.
Once you have tried living this way, I promise you that you will never go back to being the way you were. +
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