(http://www.kirbasinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/agapelove1.jpg)
Agape
Hello friends! I hope all is well with you! A lot has happened since I wrote the last post. I only just posted a few minutes ago, but it's been done for a while. God has a funny way of working. I had to wait a while to see where this series was going. But now He's given me at least a little bit of direction of where to take it next.
As a brief recap...
In Part 1 we discussed seeing people. We talked about what it was like to feel invisible, and some practical ways to truly see others.
In Part 2 we discussed seeing God. We talked about how we often miss Him, and how important it is to look up in our lives and just see Him in the everyday. When we do that we step closer to the truth of our existence.
Now that we've established those baselines of seeing others, and seeing God, we can start moving deeper.
===
I wrote all of the above a month ago. I sat down to write this post many times, but never once did it feel right. Once again, God just was having me wait until it was the right time. A bunch of things have happened lately that have helped me to answer the question that I've been posing in this post. Who do I say that God is? How does that relate to our worth. Well I have at least a little bit of a clearer picture. Without further ado....
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One of my favorite Bible stories is the story of the Prodigal son. You all have heard it plenty of times. But recently I was given a new reflection on it, that changed the way that I viewed things. You see, prodigal does mean extravagant and over the top, and most of the time people think of it as referring to the son (which of course it is). But Prodigal also refers to the love of the father. If you really read the story it's quite remarkable. The son goes up to his father one day and says to him: "Dad, I want everything I would get when you die, and I want it now." Basically:"Dad, I wish you were dead already." Even though this is a major insult, the father grants the son's wishes, The son squanders his inheritance doing any bad thing you can think of. And then he goes and cleans up for the pigs. For a Jewish person, this would be the lowest of low jobs. You would be perpetually ritually unclean, and so no one would be able to associate with you. And so in his desperation the son returns home to the father. Now the father should have been completely cold. Not only was his son unclean, but his son was basically, by Jewish law, dead to him. But the father was waiting. He had no guarantee that the son would return. And yet each and every day the father sat out on the path waiting. When he finally saw the son, far off, so far that the son might not have even been able to see him yet, he broke into a run, and wrapped him in a full embrace. He placed sandals on his feet and rings on his fingers, indicating that he had been adopted fully back into the family. This was the father's love for him. It was extravagant and wild. It was prodigal. The other title that this story could have is "The Prodigal Father".
Brothers and sisters, THAT is who the father is. That is who God is. He is a prodigal lover. (See the double meaning?) He loves us when we act as the prodigal son did, going our own way. Guys, His love isn't dependent on our returning of it! He loves us because we are His, and nothing can change that! Just as the father continued to love the son when he left, so much more so does God love us, even when we sin! And he is prodigal like the father is. When we even make the slightest movement in our hearts back to Him, He runs to meet us with wide open arms. How blessed our we to have such a lover!
John 3:16 says "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life." I know that this verse is cliche and we've all heard it time and time again, but think about it! Remember Abraham and the love he had for his son? How much more did God love Jesus? And yet God gave Him up so that WE might have life. And not just we. You. He died not just for us the collective, but you, the individual. Jesus died for you. St. Paul tells us that the wages of sin are death, but since Jesus never sinned, He never even had to die. At all. Period. Think about that! He didn't have to die at all, but He chose to do so in a painful and horrific way, just to show you how much He loves you. That's mindblowing if you think about it.
Someone told me recently that God is a romantic, and the Bible is the epic story of His romance with us. When read in that context, He becomes so much bigger and more beautiful in our understanding. God is a romantic lover. He does things that a romantic does. He laces the story with little pieces that speak just to your heart individually, if you but let it. He wants to romance us all, yes, but also each and every one of us individually. God made each and ever day for you. Just for you. Everything you see. Even this blog post. He didn't make it for anyone else, except for you. To paraphrase a friend: God is the perfect parent - We are all His favorite. Take time to enjoy the beauty. Get lost in it. It's all for you.
Love demands a response. This is why we so often miss God in our lives. We are afraid because we know when we see Him, when we let Him in, when we truly encounter Him and His love, we will have to change. And that can be uncomfortable. When Jesus meets the woman at the well, he goes to her, the outcast of the outcasts, and sees her. He talks to her and speaks to the depths of her heart His message of hope. She in turn hears it and spreads the message. She was open to His love, and in doing so she responded. Love is a perpetual outpouring of self. It is a paradox: the more we give, the more we are capable of giving. Let God in and let Him touch your heart. It's taken me a long time to do so, but now that I am finally letting Him have His foot in the door, I see my life changing. Parts of that are scary, and painful, and difficult. But they are so beautiful and I am so much happier as a result. But responding to Love is another topic for another time.
"God is love" is a cliche that we hear all the time. But it's so so true. My favorite title for God is The Lover. That, I think, is the core of who God is. The Trinity is a unity of persons in love. The love between the Father and the Son is so tangible that the Spirit springs forth as a result. The Bible is the story of His love. And each day is yet further proof of how much he loves you individually. God is love. Look around and meet your Lover.
In the song "How He Loves" by the David Crowder Band we sing "His Love's like a hurricane." Think about a hurricane. Is there anything soft and gentle in a hurricane? It's strong and it's blustery and it's completely and totally overpowering. When a hurricane comes, you either evacuate or ride it out, but there is nothing you can do to stop it coming. God is great, and His love is like a hurricane. There is nothing you can do to make Him stop loving you. You can choose to not accept it, but He will never stop.
His love is explosive. It's "like radiant diamonds, exploding inside us, we cannot contain." When you let it in and encounter His love truly, it will overpower you. It will well up and explode and it's like your heart simply cannot contain it! You want to shout it to the whole world! He loves you so much more than all the stars and planets and suns in the sky. He died with His arms outstretched, saying "I love you this much."
Who is God? He is the Lover. Let Him love you.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The song tonight is "Multiplied" by Needtobreathe. It's simple, but it is to the point. Like I said earlier, His love is like radiant diamonds.
Your love is like radiant diamonds
Bursting inside us we cannot contain
Your love will surely come find us
Like blazing wild fires singing Your name
God of mercy sweet love of mine
I have surrendered to Your design
May this offering stretch across the skies
And these Halleluiahs be multiplied
Your love is like radiant diamonds
Bursting inside us we cannot contain
Your love will surely come find us
Like blazing wild fires singing Your name
God of mercy sweet love of mine
I have surrendered to Your design
May this offering stretch across the skies
And these Halleluiahs be multiplied
(Multiplied)
(Oh multiplied)
God of mercy sweet love of mine
I have surrendered to Your design
May this offering stretch across the skies
And these Halleluiahs be multiplied
These Halleluiahs be multiplied
(Your love is like radiant diamonds)
(Bursting inside us we cannot contain)
(Your love will surely come find us)
Like blazing wild fires singing Your name
Let God be a part of your life so that your hallelujahs may be multiplied as well!
-----------------------------------------------
Romans 5:8 "But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us."
This is The Lover. Let Him love you.
-------------------------------------------------
Beloved, Love.
Until next time,
Praying for you,
~Wanted~
As a brief recap...
In Part 1 we discussed seeing people. We talked about what it was like to feel invisible, and some practical ways to truly see others.
In Part 2 we discussed seeing God. We talked about how we often miss Him, and how important it is to look up in our lives and just see Him in the everyday. When we do that we step closer to the truth of our existence.
Now that we've established those baselines of seeing others, and seeing God, we can start moving deeper.
===
I wrote all of the above a month ago. I sat down to write this post many times, but never once did it feel right. Once again, God just was having me wait until it was the right time. A bunch of things have happened lately that have helped me to answer the question that I've been posing in this post. Who do I say that God is? How does that relate to our worth. Well I have at least a little bit of a clearer picture. Without further ado....
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Infinite Worth:
The Lover
One of my favorite Bible stories is the story of the Prodigal son. You all have heard it plenty of times. But recently I was given a new reflection on it, that changed the way that I viewed things. You see, prodigal does mean extravagant and over the top, and most of the time people think of it as referring to the son (which of course it is). But Prodigal also refers to the love of the father. If you really read the story it's quite remarkable. The son goes up to his father one day and says to him: "Dad, I want everything I would get when you die, and I want it now." Basically:"Dad, I wish you were dead already." Even though this is a major insult, the father grants the son's wishes, The son squanders his inheritance doing any bad thing you can think of. And then he goes and cleans up for the pigs. For a Jewish person, this would be the lowest of low jobs. You would be perpetually ritually unclean, and so no one would be able to associate with you. And so in his desperation the son returns home to the father. Now the father should have been completely cold. Not only was his son unclean, but his son was basically, by Jewish law, dead to him. But the father was waiting. He had no guarantee that the son would return. And yet each and every day the father sat out on the path waiting. When he finally saw the son, far off, so far that the son might not have even been able to see him yet, he broke into a run, and wrapped him in a full embrace. He placed sandals on his feet and rings on his fingers, indicating that he had been adopted fully back into the family. This was the father's love for him. It was extravagant and wild. It was prodigal. The other title that this story could have is "The Prodigal Father".
Brothers and sisters, THAT is who the father is. That is who God is. He is a prodigal lover. (See the double meaning?) He loves us when we act as the prodigal son did, going our own way. Guys, His love isn't dependent on our returning of it! He loves us because we are His, and nothing can change that! Just as the father continued to love the son when he left, so much more so does God love us, even when we sin! And he is prodigal like the father is. When we even make the slightest movement in our hearts back to Him, He runs to meet us with wide open arms. How blessed our we to have such a lover!
John 3:16 says "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life." I know that this verse is cliche and we've all heard it time and time again, but think about it! Remember Abraham and the love he had for his son? How much more did God love Jesus? And yet God gave Him up so that WE might have life. And not just we. You. He died not just for us the collective, but you, the individual. Jesus died for you. St. Paul tells us that the wages of sin are death, but since Jesus never sinned, He never even had to die. At all. Period. Think about that! He didn't have to die at all, but He chose to do so in a painful and horrific way, just to show you how much He loves you. That's mindblowing if you think about it.
Someone told me recently that God is a romantic, and the Bible is the epic story of His romance with us. When read in that context, He becomes so much bigger and more beautiful in our understanding. God is a romantic lover. He does things that a romantic does. He laces the story with little pieces that speak just to your heart individually, if you but let it. He wants to romance us all, yes, but also each and every one of us individually. God made each and ever day for you. Just for you. Everything you see. Even this blog post. He didn't make it for anyone else, except for you. To paraphrase a friend: God is the perfect parent - We are all His favorite. Take time to enjoy the beauty. Get lost in it. It's all for you.
Love demands a response. This is why we so often miss God in our lives. We are afraid because we know when we see Him, when we let Him in, when we truly encounter Him and His love, we will have to change. And that can be uncomfortable. When Jesus meets the woman at the well, he goes to her, the outcast of the outcasts, and sees her. He talks to her and speaks to the depths of her heart His message of hope. She in turn hears it and spreads the message. She was open to His love, and in doing so she responded. Love is a perpetual outpouring of self. It is a paradox: the more we give, the more we are capable of giving. Let God in and let Him touch your heart. It's taken me a long time to do so, but now that I am finally letting Him have His foot in the door, I see my life changing. Parts of that are scary, and painful, and difficult. But they are so beautiful and I am so much happier as a result. But responding to Love is another topic for another time.
"God is love" is a cliche that we hear all the time. But it's so so true. My favorite title for God is The Lover. That, I think, is the core of who God is. The Trinity is a unity of persons in love. The love between the Father and the Son is so tangible that the Spirit springs forth as a result. The Bible is the story of His love. And each day is yet further proof of how much he loves you individually. God is love. Look around and meet your Lover.
In the song "How He Loves" by the David Crowder Band we sing "His Love's like a hurricane." Think about a hurricane. Is there anything soft and gentle in a hurricane? It's strong and it's blustery and it's completely and totally overpowering. When a hurricane comes, you either evacuate or ride it out, but there is nothing you can do to stop it coming. God is great, and His love is like a hurricane. There is nothing you can do to make Him stop loving you. You can choose to not accept it, but He will never stop.
His love is explosive. It's "like radiant diamonds, exploding inside us, we cannot contain." When you let it in and encounter His love truly, it will overpower you. It will well up and explode and it's like your heart simply cannot contain it! You want to shout it to the whole world! He loves you so much more than all the stars and planets and suns in the sky. He died with His arms outstretched, saying "I love you this much."
Who is God? He is the Lover. Let Him love you.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The song tonight is "Multiplied" by Needtobreathe. It's simple, but it is to the point. Like I said earlier, His love is like radiant diamonds.
Your love is like radiant diamonds
Bursting inside us we cannot contain
Your love will surely come find us
Like blazing wild fires singing Your name
God of mercy sweet love of mine
I have surrendered to Your design
May this offering stretch across the skies
And these Halleluiahs be multiplied
Your love is like radiant diamonds
Bursting inside us we cannot contain
Your love will surely come find us
Like blazing wild fires singing Your name
God of mercy sweet love of mine
I have surrendered to Your design
May this offering stretch across the skies
And these Halleluiahs be multiplied
(Multiplied)
(Oh multiplied)
God of mercy sweet love of mine
I have surrendered to Your design
May this offering stretch across the skies
And these Halleluiahs be multiplied
These Halleluiahs be multiplied
(Your love is like radiant diamonds)
(Bursting inside us we cannot contain)
(Your love will surely come find us)
Like blazing wild fires singing Your name
Let God be a part of your life so that your hallelujahs may be multiplied as well!
-----------------------------------------------
Romans 5:8 "But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us."
This is The Lover. Let Him love you.
-------------------------------------------------
Beloved, Love.
Until next time,
Praying for you,
~Wanted~
No comments:
Post a Comment