Jesus Is

          When our children were still at home we unfailingly set aside Monday nights for family devotionals.  They were always lots of fun.  We'd usually key off of one scripture and have a discussion or game that everyone could participate in. 
          One of the games we played was called "Jesus Is."  We'd make a long list of everything we could collectively come up with:  Savior, King, Lord....then we'd move on from titles to characteristics: humble, powerful, compassionate....
          A variation on this game was "Jesus Is My."  This was more personal, and really gave us insight into each other's faith and relationships with Jesus.  We listed things like:  Jesus is my friend, my teacher, my helper, my advocate (sometimes definitions were required, but they came up naturally as we discussed why we had chosen each descriptor).
Jesus is my hope--I Timothy 1:1
Jesus is my righteousness, holiness and redemption--I Corinthians 1:1
          One of the few nights that we played this game, I remember saying, "Jesus is my sanity."  And he really was and is.  It is Jesus who makes sense of my world.  He pulls into perspective the love of God. He guarantees that good will ultimately triumph over evil.   He demonstrates how to feel about and respond to living in a fallen world.  He offers sweet, cleansing freedom from the guilt of all the things I wish I'd never done.  Jesus is my happiness.