Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Heaven

No weakness. No hurting. No pain. No shame. No heartbreak. No darkness. No brokenness. No sick. No lame. No blind. No loss. No deficiencies. No insecurity. No death. No separation. No poor. No sadness. No depression. No chains. No bondage. No aching. No falling. No hate. No judging. No wandering. No evil. No end.

This is Heaven. This is the offer of Christ. This was the creation of God. P

erfect harmony with His will and our desires. This is eternal life. Believers-this is what you signed up for. Unbelievers-if this is what you desire, it can be yours.

The fact is that we are broken. All philosophers, psychologists, and authors agree. There is something wrong with humanity. What is it? Separation from our original purpose, from our original essence, and our original unity. The problem was and still is sin. That we turned from light to darkness. From worth to worthlessness. From selflessness to selfishness.

But there is One who thought we could be redeemed. One who thought and thinks we are worth saving. And this love abundant came and lived among us, and taught us, and died among us, and lived once again. Why? Why do it? Simply this. To bring us back to ourselves-our original selves. To bring us back to the origin. To bring us back to Himself.

And to anyone that should call upon Him, they shall be saved. Will life be sudden bliss? Is that the promise? No. The promise is that one day we will enter into His perfect and spotless kingdom. And in this kingdom...

There is peace. Full peace. Full joy. Full prosperity. Full unity. Full hope. Full purity. Divinity. Wonder. Amazement. Health. Abundance. Fruit. There is love. There is light. There is Christ.

Furious

Furious

His love is deep. It goes into the depths of us, into the most secret and quiet places. Is he safe? Yes, but He will change you and remove you in every way. He is gentle and lowly in Spirit.

His love is wide. It is strong as death. It is sure. There is no one and nothing that is not affected by His love. It is all expansive, reaching all places and all hearts.

It covers us. It doesn't j

ust touch one place, but every place. From hearts to minds, from bodies to finances. It covers all there is to be covered. There are no gaps. No insufficiencies.

He love is fierce. It is forceful. Will He barge into your house? No, but He will knock on the door every single day in hopes that you'll answer. He will do all there is to do to reach you, and to show you Himself.

His love is strong. It doesn't fail. There no odds with God, and no limits to His power. His grip on you is no weaker or less capable than it was yesterday, and could not be greater tomorrow. It can not be measured, and it does not give up.

It is furious. He will defend you and redeem you at any cost. It will love you to the point of all emotions, that He is so obsessed with you it overwhelms you. This is not of works, but by grace and through faith.

His love is sweet. It is pleasurable and altogether desirable. There is no greater craving we could have, and no greater satisfaction that comes from anywhere else. Like a mother holds her child, so the love of the Father comforts us.

His love is wild. No one could ever talk Him out of it, and no one contains it. It is not hold back, even by you. He can not be tamed, but will seek you in hopes that you find Him.

It awakens hearts to life. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. Though you were dead in your sin, His death in love made you redeemable, so that you could live, and that your life would reflect His life. Wake up sleeper...

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

The Unlovable

Matthew West has (still relatively) new song out called Forgiveness. I don't know how many people have researched it, but the story behind it is powerful.

Matthew decided to write all of the songs for his newest album about real life stories people had sent him. In this story a mother's child was driving home. As the daughter was driving, she got hit but a drunk driver. He survived, but the daughter passed. There was of course a court hearing, and after x amount of months he was sentenced to 22 years in prison for DWI and manslaughter.

The mother started going around to various schools and organizations talking about the importance of driving safely, and the dangers of drinking and driving. She became a spokesperson for what she had experienced, and a warning beacon that has hopefully saved lives. I respect her a lot for that. After somewhere between a few months and a few years of doing this, God began to speak to her about forgiveness. She of course responded with the natural responses that all of us would give. "I have forgiven him/her. I'm not holding a grudge. I'm fine God." But after enough time and prayer, she realized she hadn't forgiven enough, and definitely hadn't forgiven this poor and lost young man who had killed her daughter.

Through radical change and a radical God, she forgave him. No, not just in her heart. She went to the prison to visit him, and told him she forgave him. The story doesn't end there though. She now considers him to be a friend, even a member of her own family. I don't know about you but I don't have a lot of confidence that I could do that. As if this wasn't enough, she also pleaded with the judge to have his sentence cut in half. That's right, 50%! If I remember correctly, he gets out this fall/winter some time.

So what's the point? Why write about this? First, it's to show the power of forgiveness. It's to remind us that forgiveness isn't just for the forgiven, but the forgiver. Second, it's to remind you that the word "impossible" is not in God's dictionary. Third, it's to demonstrate loving the unlovable.

Here's the thing. This story is a perfect allegory to the Father, Christ, and us. The Father is the mother, Christ is the daughter, and you and I? We're the drunk driver. We spat in His face. We crucified Him. We slaughtered Him. Even now we sin against Him. But His forgiveness, His love, His mercy is strong enough to go past us-for love is as strong as death. He didn't just forgive us, but He welcomed us to be with Him. He invites us to enjoy life everlasting. Truly there has been and never will be a greater love story than this. The Father, lover of the unlovable.