Loving to know Him.
There is a difference. And this week, I cannot stop thinking about this. The way this can entangle us... Or the way this sets us free! Bear with me now, this post, a ramble stamp of my heart.
See, Jesus isn't a pill, a dictionary, a "how to" pamphlet. He is a person. He is real. He is not a chosen faith, or a listed world religion. He isn't Christian media on Amazon, or a good song on the radio. He isn't speech on a soap box of our choosing, or a weapon to be justified in our judgements.
He is One to know. To crave. To savor as your dearest friend.
The past couple of days I have been chewing on who He is, and how much I deeply like Him. And I kept hearing that question. Do we like knowing about Him, or do we actually Like Him?! Mostly I think we are afraid of Him. You see Jesus is tough to swallow, and certainly a challenge to our convictions of thought.
He is like a complex poem, worth every ounce of read and ponder.
He, in an instant, is our greatest experience of comfort, to only be what scares us to death the next. He says the kindest words...letting the broken, used, and torn, know they have a home. But He is also the same God who tells us if we don't forgive, we won't be forgiven.
So we make Jesus a pizza. We eat the slices we like, even sharing bites with others. But we leave other parts of the pizza alone. It's just too offensive to ponder, that the same Jesus who says, " they shall not inherit the kingdom of heaven..." ...for varying reasons...is the same cheesy good bite we tasted yesterday! But the truth is, Jesus isn't a pizza. He is a person. And He is complex and tough to swallow, because He loves us enough to tell us what is true.
John Eldridge says it like this,
"The friend who says you've had too much to drink spares you something ugly. A foghorn is offensive at a dinner party; it is the sweetest sound in the world for a ship lost in a storm. Jesus' words are not offensive. It is something in us that is offended."
" What would it be like to have someone in your life who knows you intimately, loves you regardless, and is willing to be completely honest with you? Yes, it would be a little unnerving, certainly disruptive- but doesn't part of you also crave it?"
" Thus the startling, disruptive, sometimes brutal honesty of Jesus. The world is stone drunk, and raging at Jesus because He's trying to keep us from taking the car. Who is being unreasonable?"
We all have pictures of Jesus that aren't true. Mostly due to Christians picking a topic of passion and glorifying it. We get out our bull horn and spew out passions on marriage, sex, wine, tattoos, parenting, and end times. We make Jesus into a topic, stripping Him of person. Then the world, even us His followers, form opinions on who this God is. Because clearly George down the street says we shouldn't be fighting in the Middle East, and He loves Jesus and goes to church.... So Jesus must be a weak man of peace that isn't a war hero. We make Jesus form into a person's passion, forgetting that no one fought a greater battle and won...ever.
Our parents teach us about Jesus thru law... So we form Jesus into a demand.
Someone says God is love, but standing against same sex marriage isn't love... So we make Jesus a pacifist.
Our church says a true Christian serves in the church... So we make Jesus into an acceptance/to do list.
On and on and on it goes. Like children walking in to the Sistine Chapel with paint ball guns. We add our colors to Jesus, and the world spins confused. Distracted from that hand of a God reaching out, by all the ugly blobs we call facts by our morphed belief system.
Ever thought of challenging what you believe about Him? Of seeing for yourself that the same Jesus who said forgive or you won't be forgiven...says He wills NONE to persish. Not one single soul. A contradiction...Beautiful enough to study? You betcha!
Here is what I thought this week. His church is lost in topics. Absolutely lost. We ostracize with them, form classes around them, teach them from the pulpit. We have become empire builders, seeing who has the greatest success, followers, and tweets. I can't get over how forgotten Jesus is in His own church. Maybe His kids haven't looked into His face in a long time. Because if we did, we would talk about HIM more...His heart, His walk on earth, His ways of handling earth moments, and His traits of identity. What we love about Him. How we enjoyed Him that day.
Glorifying topics can suffocate and make people lose eyes on God. For example...
I am around a lot of people who talk about the end times. But the thing is, I don't want to. I don't want to be lost in signs, and guesses... I don't want to prepare for horrible things, and guess at the hours we have left... If we will be here for tribulation, or sucked up to glory before.... I only want to prepare ONE way, I want to be found knowing Him. To be too in love to change my focus to a topic.
Rogue? Perhaps I am. Wild. Odd. Uncomfortable... It's likely. But it's what I believe. Knowing Jesus personally is ALL that matters. He will tell me what's what. I believe I can focus on Him and He can tell me things when I need to know them. That I can read His Word and have He, Himself, reveal to me it's story. He is able to prepare me, even with me unaware of it. God uses people, and what a privilege it is, but He doesn't need them to interact with us personally.
What would the church be if we studied more of His Person, not a topic? More of His essence, instead of our movements...
Maybe our marriages would overcome because we looked into Jesus heart on it, instead of doing what is expected by the Church. Perhaps choosing not to divorce because it tells a lie about how God loves. Versus staying married because it's a must in being a good Christian.
We all do it. We can be topic worshippers. Topic spouting pros. Topic pondering meddlers. We forget we were in love once.
So maybe I will be a burr to some. I irritate my own people. But I don't have time to figure out topics and the people clicks that form because of them. I only have one soul, and I want to be found recklessly seeking One face.
Love the Lord your God...
with all your heart...
mind...
and strength...
And love people as yourself.
Precise.
That's it.
This Jesus knew we would do this. Mini empires with His name slapped on the front. Everywhere these mini kingdoms. So He narrowed things down, simplifying our tower of Babels.
Deuteronomy 6:5-9
Matthew 22:37-40
Remember Him? Look into His face. For a moment... being brave enough to believe it's true...
Alone. All by Himself. He is enough.
The person of Jesus is THE reason to stay married to your spouse.
Having a friendship with Jesus IS an end times "strategy."
Recognizing His heart IS enough to change a course of action.
Knowing His thoughts CAN shape a Mama or Daddy heart.
Enjoying Him builds gratitude and defeats discontentment.
Seeing Jesus changes our perspective's on people, and how we relate to them.
Knowing Jesus personally, defies depression.
Learning what He values leads to saving unborn babies, ministering in the boycott places, and touching the dirty clothes of the poor.
Knowing Jesus, loving Him, indeed liking Him... This shapes all things.
It's like,us Christians, think they are studying for a test, but forgot the subject line.
He warns us. We can do things IN HIS NAME, and in the end, can hear Him say, " I knew you not."
Like He is looking at the church right now. At the Christian Mommy groups, counseling centers, and Sunday school leaders and just saying it. " it's possible for you to do this, and not know Me at all."
So which is it? Risk a raw...analyze your own skin. Do you love knowing about Him, or just being in clicks that bear His name? Do you love your interaction with Jesus? Your talks, smiles, and silly moments... Your crying out to Him in hard, and His always being there... Do you love Him so much, you wait on THAT voice, because it's the only one you really care about?
And then this. My heart heavy about the core of it...
I believe Jesus and His Word are enough. But lately... We seem to hear scriptures and then we turn pondering them...Into an analyzing game to figure out future predictions. This attempt of sorts to define "an exact", as a way to control. An exact time line. An exact meaning. An exact interpretation. But maybe we are not supposed to see all things like God. Maybe the serpent hasn't really changed his tactics at all. We would all be wise to remember.
Jesus came. He gave us an example and therefore compassion for our struggles. He died. He rose again. Then He left a helper, this precious Holy Spirit... AND His word, this book.
BUT WE ACT LIKE IT'S NOT ENOUGH. THAT HE IS NOT ENOUGH. Like He needs our detective skills.
Let that hurt a bit. It sure hurts me.
We need to hear this. All of us. Especially this week. The world is groaning. Aching for His return. False prophets are becoming thicker. Be careful what you accept quickly, simply because the speaker says they are a Christian with credentials. Because men of God exist and are precious. Used and certainly needed. But lately I have seen a lot of men claim His name and speak lofty things LIKE THEY KNOW AS GOD HIMSELF. The snares get trickier when some of our own get cocky. Be wise friends, run the ramblings through Jesus as funnel.
That's my challenge now. This gnawing want of heart.
I want to want Jesus. I want to believe His Word to be enough.
I grieve the Hollywood internet hype. This adding predictions to a book God already put enough in. Maybe we don't have to analyze moons turning red, connecting our own dots and assumptions to a thrumming scary song. Maybe Jesus's signs are His grace, and are enough. Maybe we should trust that voice. Choosing to not run to the tree of knowledge again...in this attempt to control with the clues He gave.
And the thing is, He gave those clues because of love. Hoping it would drive us to trust Him more. To stand in awe of the secrets He keeps. And in awe of the One who Keeps our souls.
Knowledge can be about Him and not of Him. So this week as the mouths around me babble human interpretations of The Beginning and The End... I have been thinking differently. With less hype and fear, and more trust.
I am sidetracked by love. This Jesus.
My Alpha, My Omega... My favorite heart thought and soul love.... I want Him. I want His Word. I want to trust in the Name of The Lord My God. This constant turning to look and see, is this in line with Christs heart? With His word?
I know this of myself. I lose Him when I look to men first. When I trust their opinions, interpretation, and ramble without question. And the more I get to know this Jesus, the more I see, His ways are higher than our ways, His thoughts higher than our thoughts. So I am asking Him more. "What do you think Jesus? Tell me where I should stand. Because men are loud and opinions are high. But You, my Savior, are the Rock higher. I want You. Lead me in YOUR truth. You, my only good. Your all I want, keep me in the shadow of Your wing."
Who do we look to first?
Whose voice matters most to us?
May it be Jesus. Always Jesus.
