I VIRTUALLY ENTERED HIS WORLD

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

From the moment I first read these words, Jesus captured my heart and soul and became real to me.

This was his invitation to rest and find peace in the midst of my mental health challenges. At the same time, he invited me to join him in the work he was doing in the world. He promised that he would be right beside me as I partnered with him. I welcomed his invitation. He had given me a reason for living.

Through that scripture I heard him say, “Come to me alone.” In other words, “Don’t let the Pharisees, the religious people with their many rules, burden you. Look only to me and the way I show you how to live—with love for God and others. That’s what matters most.”

The stories I read about Jesus and the things he said in the gospels meant more to me than anything else I was being taught in church. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe the more complex truths that are part of the Christian religion, they just weren’t as important to me. My relationship to Jesus was what I valued most.

Jesus was known for his kindness, humility, and gentleness. He included people that everyone else left out—those who were being rejected by the world he lived in. He was a radical in the way he treated social outcasts like prostitutes, the poor, the sick, lepers and others. The way he treated them brought them the sense of dignity and value they had been lacking. Before Jesus came, such acceptance was a rare thing. He changed the status quo.

And so it was that I virtually entered the world he lived in some two thousand years ago. I came to appreciate Jesus in the way those who first experienced his physical presence did. This was before those people recognized him as the son of God; before the crucifixion; before the resurrection. He was the man who did and said wonderful things—the man who loved unconditionally in a way no one had ever loved before.

From the time I founded Living Room, this Jesus was central to my faith and came through in my messages to those who came to meetings. During our devotional times, his love and what he offered us through that love was what we talked about more than anything else. It was through the knowledge of this love that we were able to sort out our mental health problems and found encouragement for our pain. This is how many found healing, especially healing from the effects of the stigma they experienced.

Because of my deep love for him, I could not help making Jesus a big part of the devotionals I presented at meetings and the devotionals I sent out by email. These devotionals became the key that made the spiritual mental health support I offered what it is.

Starting in 2009, I began to identify the foundation of Living Room to be the unconditional love of Jesus Christ. It’s the same foundation on which Living Room’s Open Door will rest.

marja