Embracing the Gift

Image credit: Mike Willshaw

Have you ever read “Crazy Love,” by Francis Chan?  Go – do it right now. I’ll wait.

Just kidding, of course, who has time right now to read a whole book in one sitting? I certainly don’t.  Unless it happened to be the four books in the “Bailey Flanigan” series by Karen Kingsbury. I read all four of those in the span of three days. And it wasn’t even vacation!

But books like “Crazy Love,” and “Grace for the Good Girl” (by Emily Freeman), are not books that I can read that quickly.  They are books that have truths wrapped up in imagery, and each sentence is like a gift.  Even when the sting of conviction comes, I am grateful for the gift.

When we are confronted with a truth about God’s word and God’s sovereignty, we have to act.  When I watched the accompanying video to chapter 1 of “Crazy Love,” I was compelled to worship.  After all — this same God that we speak of created entire galaxies, of which the one where we reside is just a speck.  And this same God, who is so vast and so all-encompassing created the caterpillar to have 248 unique muscles in the head alone.  And this caterpillar also undergoes the most radical of transformations into a beautiful butterfly.  Creations speaks of His glory.

And when we read about the depth of His great love for us, we need to let it touch our hearts. In a culture that over-uses the word love — – and only HAS one word for love (do not get me started on the weakness of the English language compared to Greek) – -  are we truly, completely understanding when we hear that Jesus loves us?

Yes – Jesus died on the cross for all mankind.  Paying for all sin — past, present, future – once and for all.  But the triune God of the UNIVERSE had a plan for  YOU before the foundation of the Earth.  Do you believe that?

This same God – the one who created everything, and has a plan for you and good works that He prepared for you in advance (Ephesians 2:10) – doesn’t just want obedience and respect.  That is only part of the picture.

Jesus loves you.

Jesus suffered death so that He could spent eternity with you.  This is not trite fairy tale stuff.  This is the TRUTH.  If you haven’t felt Him wooing you into a closer relationship with Him, then my friend  - – - you probably haven’t been listening.  WAKE UP!  Open your eyes!  Listen with your whole heart.

Be still and know that I am God.  Psalm 46:10

The crucifixion and resurrection are not the end of the story.  We don’t close the book after He ascends back into Heaven. The Holy Spirit comes, and dwells within us, allowing for the first time a true relationship with a risen Savior.  We are not bound by the laws of the Hebrew traditions. The veil separating us from the presence of God was torn in two, from top to bottom.  We have the extravagant privilege of going to God whenever we want to.

Did you read Kristen’s post on Monday? We are in this together, friends.  We are struggling to accept this lavish gift of love, of grace, and of complete acceptance.   To help me cultivate my relationship with Him, I started a private blog where I simply write letters to Him.  I used to journal, but I am just on the computer much more, and at a desk, and have become so accustomed to typing that my fingers can almost keep up with my brain.  Writing them out in a journal is fine sometimes, but for me it is just not something that I have been able to be consistent with.  In the week since I started my journal blog, I have found myself praying more often, and simply yearning to spend time with Him – - to thank Him for everything.  It is now what I do, even if it is just a couple sentences, before I start studying the Word.

What can you do, right now, to start embracing the idea of being a dearly loved daughter of the King?  What can you do to cultivate your relationship with Him?   What are you doing that has given you that spark? Let’s get a conversation started — either here in the comments, or over at our Community.