It's complicated. But is it supposed to be complicated? Does it have to be complicated?
I love the Word of God. It is so rich and deep. I can discover new things in it every time I look into it. One of my favorite moments in the Word is when something is revealed to me that I hadn't seen before, that makes me aware again of the awesomeness of God. I say to myself in these precious moments, "Wow!"
There are also moments in the Word when I get caught up in what I am supposed to be, but I'm not, what I'm not supposed to be, but I am, what I have yet to do, what I shouldn't do, what I need to get done, there's what Paul says, and what Peter says - well it gets so complicated. It's all true, it's all wisdom, it is all transforming and washing Word, but as I try to understand and apply in my life, mostly unsuccessfully, all of the righteous standards, warnings, and expectations of the scriptures, I find myself leaving behind, leaving out, forgetting, the most important part of the equation- the Lord, Himself. Paul said that he prayed this for us:
"...that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all (the fullness of all things in every way being fulfilled-Pure Word)."
Eph. 1:17-23
To me, the above is an example of one of those "Wow!" moments. In another place, Paul describes us in the following manner:
"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." Eph. 2:10
Sometimes I get so overwhelmed by the details, that I lose the Big Picture, and I lose my relationship with the One who painted the Big Picture.
When I pray, I often come with my spiritual shopping list, instead of sinking into the One Who has already fulfilled all of the items on my shopping list. I don't mean to make light of prayer needs and requests, many of which are dire, by comparing them to a shopping list. However, if that is how I am handling them, then I am indeed trivializing them. "For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him...For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things." (Mt. 6:7-8, 31-32). What was Jesus trying to tell us about prayer? Jesus would go off by Himself to pray all night, often to the top of a mountain, where He would just sink into His Father's presence, fulfilling and being fulfilled.
The Israelites got caught up in the system of burnt offerings, which they were given by God under the Law. In Psalm 50, the LORD asks them to "hear" Him. He doesn't rebuke them for their offerings, but they left Him behind. What He really desired from them was their thanksgiving, and to "call upon Him" (call or cry out by name (of God), encounter a person, to be made to meet a person, to cause to happen by an encounter). The LORD was trying to take them back to the Person, trying to get them to connect with Him. He told them, "I am God, your God!"
Jesus told the Pharisees, and the scribes of the temple that they didn't know Him, because they didn't know the One who sent Him (Jn. 5:37-38, Jn. 8:19, Jn. 15:21). They spent so much time searching and learning the scriptures to try to find eternal life, but they didn't understand that those scriptures are a Person, and are embodied in a Person, Jesus, Who is the eternal life for which they were searching so hard (Jn. 5:39-40, Jn. 11:25).
You may wonder why this topic came up: what "put this bee in my bonnet"? A visitor came knocking on my door the other day. It was a very hot day, and I had just brought a family member home from the hospital. I was in no mood for callers. My unexpected visitor was a little old lady. She had pamphlets, and wanted to tell me that the Kingdom was coming. I told her that I was a Christian, and she said, "That's OK, we'll talk to everybody." (?!). I had a short discussion with her, and no, I was not recruited! However, after she left, I was left to think about some things. She is looking for a kingdom, but she does not know The King- for where the King is, there you will find His Kingdom. As Jesus said, "...the kingdom of God is within you (in your midst)." She has her eyes on the 144,000 spoken of in Revelation 7 and 14, and she is trying to earn a place among them. However, those 144,000 have their eyes on The Lamb, because "These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes..."
I suddenly wondered to myself, "The Lamb goes somewhere? Where does the Lamb go, and what does He do when He gets there, and why don't I know about it?" It is evidently the Lamb slain who is doing the going, not the King of kings in all of His majesty. I thought that the Lamb must go to some of the most horrible and desperate places on the earth, and lays Himself down over them.
I wondered if I was like that little old lady, who had her eyes and efforts caught up in a lot of things, but was missing the very thing for which she should be looking: like Martha rushing and preparing in the kitchen, when she should have been sitting at the feet of Jesus, like her sister. Martha was doing and concerned with many things, but she was missing Jesus! (Lk. 10:38-42). I don't want to be like the ones who counted their steps in order to keep the Sabbath, yet did not know the Lord of the Sabbath. I don't want to be like one who continually searches the scriptures, but leaves out the Living Word, the Son of God, Who fulfills all scripture! I don't want to be one trying to attain the unity of the faith, the perfect man, the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, in every way except in Christ! Those who have been given to the church to build us into that fuIlness, point us to the Person Who called them to begin with: apostles, who have been with, and show us the Person of Christ; prophets, who prophesy by the spirit of prophecy, Who is Christ; pastors, who shepherd by the example they have been shown by, and lead us to, the Good Shepherd, Christ; evangelists (root-messenger, angel, bringer or instructor in the good news of salvation in Christ), who bring us the good news of the One from Whom they have received it, Christ; teachers, who have been taught and teach by the Rabbi, Himself, Christ. All of those gifts to the church have been given in order to impart the Person of Christ to us in some aspect.
Paul said that men and nations should "seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being..." (Acts 17:27-28)
All of those very complicated things that I am occupied with, could really become very simple. They are all found and fulfilled in a Person. I need to find, and become one with that Person. I want to resemble one of those who follows the Lamb wherever He goes. I want to be one who encounters the holy One of Israel Who has said, "I am God, your God!", becoming changed myself by that encounter, and in turn causing change as a result of that encounter. I should have figured this out a long time ago. Thanks little old lady for knocking on my door on a hot summer day. I will carry you with me in my heart as I call upon (encounter), and abide in Jesus. I will take you to The King!
Our Father has created me in Christ, and I will abide in Him (Jn. 15:4, 7).
