In the last week, all of the conversations I've had with my friends have had a reoccurring theme.
I'm finding that most people, including myself, have a hard time understanding how God can be enough for them, how they can only be satisfied with friendships, relationships, marriages, parents, anything if they are satisfied with God.
Humans are naturally needy people. I remember one time, I was with a friend who said,
"I'm so glad to be out of that relationship. She was so needy."
Another one of my friends replied,
"Duh, we all are."
So true.
God intended for us to be infatuated with him. We've all seen that guy who literally chases after the girl of his dreams. The epitome of a tool.
David Crowder hit the nail on the head with his song "Obsession."
"What can i do with my obsession
With the things i cannot see
Is there madness in my being
Is it the wind that moves the trees?
Sometimes You're further than the moon
Sometimes You're closer than my skin
And You surround me like a winter fog
You've come and burned me with a kiss"
My good friend Jeffery agrees with me that no matter how near or far God may seem, he is always as close as our skin, burning with his love and infatuation for us. It is a love that can only be described divine, unconditional, self-sacrificing, active, volitional, and thoughtful love.
The word "Agape" means wide open, but it also refers to a Godly Love. God is in limitless, crazy, wide open love with us.
Whats our return? I find that most of the time I am so caught up in my love for yours truly that I can't even give God my attention.
But he still loves. He loves me "Wide Openly." His arms, stretched, nailed to a wooden cross beam, wide open. Every thought, every breath, every single ounce of strength was focused upon one thing. His bride, his love, his heartbeat... us.
We've heard every salvation talk, and then some. But what I must constantly paint in my mind, what I must try to understand, is God's love for you and me.
When I do, I always ask myself this question: "If I am not satisfied with Christ, how can I ever be satisfied with a wife, kids, a job, friends, possessions... anything?"
The answer is simple... I won't be satisfied.
I wonder how it is a man becomes obsessed with the Lord? Its rather simple, just look at John the Baptist. He spent his time prior to his ministry alone, in the wilderness. What he did, who knows. The author John Eldridge would probably speculate the he climbed mountains and played war, Rob Bell would probably say that he found truth, and everyone else probably has their theories about what Ol''e John did in the wilderness.
Heres what I think he did.
I think John woke up before the sunrise and watched the world wake up. I believe he listened to the crackle of a campfire, trying to hear some melodic tune. I see him swimming in a river, and then fishing on its shores. I wonder if he tried to count the stars. I believe he saw everything nature offered, and marveled in it.
He became infatuated with God. And then, he preached the word, preparing the way for the Messiah.
And that's what we have to do. We must explore the depths of God, we must take the time to slow down, and marvel in his creation, and then, we will find satisfaction in him. When we truly know who God is, and how God loves, then we will be able to know how to love him back. Its a true relationship.
In order for a husband to know his wife, he studies her, learning everything about her. He watches her ways, and then learns how to love her. Its not instantaneous, its takes years; a lifetime.
Our love, our desire for God takes time. But, if you set aside the time, to go into the wilderness, away from all the noise, all the distractions and from everyone, we will find our obsession, our focus. We can find God there.
And as we all know, that once you deeply fall in love with someone, you don't fall out.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Pioneer!
I would love pioneer some new thing. Like Steve Jobs with Mac, Bill Cosby with Comedy, Jaco Pastorius on the Bass, I want to do something that no one has done before.
What's funny is that everyone wants to make some new fashion statement, every true musician is looking for that distinct sound, every artist looks for the right view point. Its a human desire to do something that will make their name forever remembered as an innovator or bright mind.
What drives me crazy about the thought of pioneering something is how do you know it is something that has never been processed before? It seems to me the only logical way to pioneer anything to to really trust not in yourself to make this new thing, but trust in God and the people he has placed in your path.
Being a pioneer your either going to be really respected or look like a complete idiot. I remember the first time tried to pioneer a way of singing by getting on the floor beneath my snare drum, holding a mic against the top, with me singing through the bottom. My band mates looked at me like I was crazy. I liked the sound, and wanted to try it.
I guess if your convictions about something lead you to do it in spite of what others say, than your a true pioneer. So hitch up your wagon, a blaze the unknown trail.
What's funny is that everyone wants to make some new fashion statement, every true musician is looking for that distinct sound, every artist looks for the right view point. Its a human desire to do something that will make their name forever remembered as an innovator or bright mind.
What drives me crazy about the thought of pioneering something is how do you know it is something that has never been processed before? It seems to me the only logical way to pioneer anything to to really trust not in yourself to make this new thing, but trust in God and the people he has placed in your path.
Being a pioneer your either going to be really respected or look like a complete idiot. I remember the first time tried to pioneer a way of singing by getting on the floor beneath my snare drum, holding a mic against the top, with me singing through the bottom. My band mates looked at me like I was crazy. I liked the sound, and wanted to try it.
I guess if your convictions about something lead you to do it in spite of what others say, than your a true pioneer. So hitch up your wagon, a blaze the unknown trail.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Prized Possesions
One of my favorite state mottos is that of Minnesota, which says, “I Long to see what is Beyond!” The old English dictionary translates the word “long” as: “To dwell in thought, to yearn.” (As bad as my English may be, I love words.)
We all long to see what is beyond. A mountain climber always longs to see what is beyond the summit in hopes of gazing upon his next challenge. A child longs to know what is happening at all times. A friend of mine from camp kept count of questions her second grade campers asked from the time they woke up until flag, a total time of about 30 minutes. She lost count in the 60s.
Like children, we long to know what is next and what is beyond our gaze. What we see is the present, what is going on in our everyday lives, but what we want to know is where will I go after college what will my job be, when will I get married, will I get married, will anyone marry me, Texas or South Carolina, Columbia or Nashville, Africa or Orlando?
I know that in the next year I will graduate from college, and that’s about it. Some of you may know your career, but are unsure where you will use it. My sister Meagan will graduate from nursing school in May. I envied her for knowing exactly what she’s going to do until she showed me a list of options for nursing. Who knew nurses could do so much?
Planning for the future is confusing, frustrating, and tough, but it’s not what God designed us to dwell upon. If our focus is on trusting our Sovereign Lord (who, by the way, spoke the world into existence, numbered the stars, knows them by name, knitted us together in our mothers womb, breathed life into us, knows the number of hairs on our heads, sent his son to live among us and die for us, defeated death, and will one day split the eastern sky) then we will not long to see what is beyond us, but instead long for the presence and manifestation of God. Our desire will simply be for Him.
There are those people in our lives that the advice they give is priceless. My grandparents are two of those people. This past July I visited them after I returned from my mission trip to Honduras. As I told them about my trip and my summer, the conversation moved to the subject of my future. My grandmother could see the apprehension all over my face. She looked at me and said, “Worries and confusion are not of God. God will not give you stress, or anxieties.”
As I read James 1:16-18, it reminds me that God has my best interests in mind.
James 1:16-18 says: “ 16 So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.18 He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.
God created everything. He created things so beautiful that they take your breath away; yet, we are His prized possession? God values you so much. Every time you remember that, you will see that He has you and your future in His hands.
We all long to see what is beyond. A mountain climber always longs to see what is beyond the summit in hopes of gazing upon his next challenge. A child longs to know what is happening at all times. A friend of mine from camp kept count of questions her second grade campers asked from the time they woke up until flag, a total time of about 30 minutes. She lost count in the 60s.
Like children, we long to know what is next and what is beyond our gaze. What we see is the present, what is going on in our everyday lives, but what we want to know is where will I go after college what will my job be, when will I get married, will I get married, will anyone marry me, Texas or South Carolina, Columbia or Nashville, Africa or Orlando?
I know that in the next year I will graduate from college, and that’s about it. Some of you may know your career, but are unsure where you will use it. My sister Meagan will graduate from nursing school in May. I envied her for knowing exactly what she’s going to do until she showed me a list of options for nursing. Who knew nurses could do so much?
Planning for the future is confusing, frustrating, and tough, but it’s not what God designed us to dwell upon. If our focus is on trusting our Sovereign Lord (who, by the way, spoke the world into existence, numbered the stars, knows them by name, knitted us together in our mothers womb, breathed life into us, knows the number of hairs on our heads, sent his son to live among us and die for us, defeated death, and will one day split the eastern sky) then we will not long to see what is beyond us, but instead long for the presence and manifestation of God. Our desire will simply be for Him.
There are those people in our lives that the advice they give is priceless. My grandparents are two of those people. This past July I visited them after I returned from my mission trip to Honduras. As I told them about my trip and my summer, the conversation moved to the subject of my future. My grandmother could see the apprehension all over my face. She looked at me and said, “Worries and confusion are not of God. God will not give you stress, or anxieties.”
As I read James 1:16-18, it reminds me that God has my best interests in mind.
James 1:16-18 says: “ 16 So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.18 He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.
God created everything. He created things so beautiful that they take your breath away; yet, we are His prized possession? God values you so much. Every time you remember that, you will see that He has you and your future in His hands.
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