Jesus fought and died for us. He is a valiant warrior. This is one reason I gotta go see Him when I die. I painted a picture of this in my previous entry called “Heaven”.
There’s another reason I gotta see Jesus when I die. He tends my wounds. This is the tender side to the fighter in Him. Here are my wounds: I’ve been hurt. Hurt others. Hurt myself. Failed to love. To forgive. To give. To find “my place in this world”. My previous dreams turned out to be a smokescreen for emptiness and self-rejection. Can you identify? I think most can, at least to one degree or another.
Then, I began to let Jesus tend my wounds, primarily through leaving the legalism of my own heart and finding a group of people who act as a “Room of Grace” where I am accepted and where my wounds are tended. Sometimes it has been a painstaking process because all along the way I have so many questions like, “Why would God care about me?” Or, “I guess He’s probably putting up with me, since He has to.” How could anyone trust a God like that one? Getting to the point where I finally realized that God flat-out desires to rescue and heal me took a couple years. This past year has been the best year of my life.
When I go to heaven, I gotta see the One who is tending my wounds right now. I gotta see the Great Physician, the wound-care specialist. He puts His arm around me. He tells me everything is okay, that there isn’t anything wrong with me even when things are falling apart. He doesn’t care how I perform or hold up against those who hurt me. He’s more concerned with me than my performance.
He isn’t just a fighter or a valiant warrior. He also cries with me. Spends time with me. Laughs with me. Tends to my wounds. I get to spend the rest of forever with this Gentle Shepherd. This Great Physician.
This is Heaven.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
The Faces of God
God holds me, protects me, affirms me, loves me, teaches me, trains me, fights for me, and shows Himself to me through His children around me. I call these spiritual brothers and sisters the Faces of God. In turn, I am a Face of God to them.
We are interdependent and it is literally divine.
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*To clarify, I am not talking pantheism here. God lives inside me, but I am not God.
We are interdependent and it is literally divine.
_____________________________________
*To clarify, I am not talking pantheism here. God lives inside me, but I am not God.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Heaven
I don’t know much about Heaven. I haven’t been there yet. What I do know about is the person I gotta see when I get there.
Picture this. Suppose you’re a young teenage girl who’s been sold into human trafficking in Thailand. You’ve been in there so long that you’re disillusioned and suicidal. So much has been done to you, and in turn, you’ve done many hurtful things to the girls around you, as well.
Several years after you were sold into the sex trade, a married couple you’ve never met (activists of a sort) manage to secure your release at the expense of their money, time, and even safety while they are in Thailand to make the transaction. For reasons unknown to you, they must leave and you're never able to see them. You only know they’re from Australia.
You’re sent back to your home country and a non-profit organization helps you get back on your feet and enter the job market. Fifteen years have passed and despite all of the deep wounds, you’ve managed to come to some peace in your heart and even forgive those who originally sold you into slavery in the first place.
A phone call comes to you one evening. It’s someone from the non-profit organization who helped get you on your feet years ago. Apparently, there’s been communication between them and the married couple who originally secured your release. If a visa can be arranged for you to fly to Australia, then they want to bring you to their home so they can meet you in person now that they know your location and how you’ve been doing.
I don’t know about you, but if I was this person I couldn’t wait to meet that married couple. I’d have so many questions about why they thought to do that for me. More importantly, I’d want to hug them, kiss them, and laugh with them. I probably be restless until I could get on the plane and go visit. All I know is that I’d want to BE WITH THEM. And, I don’t think the trip could ever be long enough to satisfy my desire to BE WITH THEM.
In a similar way, this is what I think of heaven. When I die, I want to be united with the one who secured my release from sin and death through his death and resurrection at the cross. I want to be united with the one who has an immensely powerful, yet tender heart for me and those around me. I have so many questions about why He would do such a thing in the first place. More importantly, I want to BE WITH HIM, and no amount of time will ever be long enough to satisfy my desire to BE WITH HIM. Thank God that there will always be enough time, and it will be forever.
God secured my release from sin and death. He has a powerful and tender heart that was willing to suffer and die in order to obtain my release. I get to be with Him. This is heaven.
Picture this. Suppose you’re a young teenage girl who’s been sold into human trafficking in Thailand. You’ve been in there so long that you’re disillusioned and suicidal. So much has been done to you, and in turn, you’ve done many hurtful things to the girls around you, as well.
Several years after you were sold into the sex trade, a married couple you’ve never met (activists of a sort) manage to secure your release at the expense of their money, time, and even safety while they are in Thailand to make the transaction. For reasons unknown to you, they must leave and you're never able to see them. You only know they’re from Australia.
You’re sent back to your home country and a non-profit organization helps you get back on your feet and enter the job market. Fifteen years have passed and despite all of the deep wounds, you’ve managed to come to some peace in your heart and even forgive those who originally sold you into slavery in the first place.
A phone call comes to you one evening. It’s someone from the non-profit organization who helped get you on your feet years ago. Apparently, there’s been communication between them and the married couple who originally secured your release. If a visa can be arranged for you to fly to Australia, then they want to bring you to their home so they can meet you in person now that they know your location and how you’ve been doing.
I don’t know about you, but if I was this person I couldn’t wait to meet that married couple. I’d have so many questions about why they thought to do that for me. More importantly, I’d want to hug them, kiss them, and laugh with them. I probably be restless until I could get on the plane and go visit. All I know is that I’d want to BE WITH THEM. And, I don’t think the trip could ever be long enough to satisfy my desire to BE WITH THEM.
In a similar way, this is what I think of heaven. When I die, I want to be united with the one who secured my release from sin and death through his death and resurrection at the cross. I want to be united with the one who has an immensely powerful, yet tender heart for me and those around me. I have so many questions about why He would do such a thing in the first place. More importantly, I want to BE WITH HIM, and no amount of time will ever be long enough to satisfy my desire to BE WITH HIM. Thank God that there will always be enough time, and it will be forever.
God secured my release from sin and death. He has a powerful and tender heart that was willing to suffer and die in order to obtain my release. I get to be with Him. This is heaven.
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