A Short Story
Dear all,
this is a story from the internet, but which reminded me very much of my own thoughts when it comes to thinking about intimacy with Christ. I remember feeling so much like that little girl's distress on hearing Him speak and realising that few Christians had ever bothered to hear Him speak or believed He would speak with them. (The former breeds boredom in the Christian walk, a lack of direction and purpose, while the latter hints at self-condescention, rejection, and a need for wholeness, which I actually think God very much wants to restore to wholesomeness.) In my heart of hearts, meeting Him was meeting life itself, and it was heartbreaking to watch my christian friends languish after purpose or meaning in their lives, and generally spending their time believing the world was right about life after all. Hence they walk through life as Christians believing, but not really knowing what they believe, claiming victory and blessing in every circumstance because they know He will give--knowing, but not understanding His heart.
"Jesus and I walked along a path one day. The sun was shining and the birds were singing and everything was beautiful. As we walked amongst the flowers and the beauty of the mountains, trees, and undulating green hills, He revealed His love through creation, and in His very gentleness, patience. My heart almost burst with joy at the reality of this revelation, and His proximity made every cell in me feel alive. This is the moment I look forward to each day--to be united again with He who once gave His life for me. The memory of meeting Him through my day sustains me and teaches me who He wants me to be. My daily bread. =) As we walked, He pointed out one treasure after another, and I couldn't help but to shout out with the joy I felt in loving Him... He laughed with love in His eyes at the immense pleasure in me, then gently took me by the hand and led me on...
As we walked, a strange and sad looking man approached me. While his faced was contorted in anger and his voice was filled with hate, his eyes held mine with the suffering they showed, the eyes of a child begging for love... This man came right up in my face and snarled, the stench of his flesh was almost more than I could bare, but the pain in his eyes held me in spite of the offence to my nostrils. I reached out for his hand and as my fingers touched his, he violently jerked away, as though my love were a painful thing. He looked in my eyes and then looked this way and that, and said with another snarl, "What are you shouting for and Who are you talking to? Are you mad?"
How strange I thought that he can't see my love, I said, "Look, He is right there, can't you see Him?"
Again he looked into my eyes and jerked away, looking this way and that, and spat. "I see nothing!" and turned to run.
I reached out and touched him but he ran away in the darkness, I turned to try and catch him, but Jesus said, "Come, follow Me, I have more to show you."
We moved on through creation, and as I marveled at the beauty of it all, He squeezed me this little, excited child and whispered again, "I love you"... I whispered back, "Oh I love You too!" (how could anyone not love You?)
All of a sudden this sharp voice said, "Who do you love?".
I turned to see who spoke to me, and saw a little old lady, with a child she dragged behind her.
I said, "Oh! I love this child, he is beautiful!."
"This child?", she said.
"Oh, yes he is beautiful."
"You must be daft! This is a bad child, children should not be so bad"
I looked at the child with wonder, and felt his pain as he looked up at me with his heart in his eyes. I reached out to touch him and as my fingers gently grazed his cheek, she pulled him away, I tried to follow, but my love tugged at my heart and said,
"Come, I have more to show you."
"But LORD" I cried, "What about the child!"
"Trust Me and Come".
I looked into His eyes. My heart was again filled with joy and I followed. As we walked further into creation, He showed me great and wonderful things, things He had prepared for those who loved Him. I stared in sheer awe of everything He had done. As I stood there in speechless wonder, a man with a bible came up and stood beside me. I turned and smiled and returned my gaze to my love.
"Amazing isn't it?", said the man.
"Yes", I said, "most amazing"
"All this and heaven too!"
"Yes" I said, "It is too much!"
"Amen!" he replied, "and thank God it is ALL mine in Jesus Christ"
This made me wonder if he was thankful for the same as I was, so I gently reached out to him and said, "Do you see my love?",
"Oh yes, in the things that you do."
I asked again, thinking he had misunderstood me, "Do you see my love"
Again he replied, "Yes, it is in the things you say."
"No" I tried to explain... "those are but shadows... I mean...."
As I reached out and touched his hand he was already turning away, whispering to himself, "It is mine, it is mine..."
"No wait!, those are just shadows!" I cried, "please, can you see MY LOVE?"
but he was gone...
Jesus reached out and gently touched my heart and drew me close, as I cried, "why can't they see You?" He dried my tears and gently said, "Don't fret, dear heart...trust Me and come.... so I followed.
As we continued to walk we approached a great house, there were many rooms far to numerous to count, there were servants and kings and many I had seen along the way, I paused to look in, but He gently nudged me on my way. Soon we approached a hugh door and I knew the time had come for another revelation from Him. He gently took my face in His hands and looked into my eyes,
"Now, my love, ask me anything?"
"My LORD, what of the child? why did he not see you?"
"Oh, but He did dear one, when he saw Me in your eyes his heart jumped with joy, because he remembered my love from the beginning. All children know my love, they just have a tendency to forget, so they must be shown daily to remind them, or they can be drawn away".... my heart jumped with joy to know the child had met Jesus, and was comforted.
Then my mind fell to the old lady, and I asked, "LORD, what of the old lady with the child? She was so lost and lonely, what of her LORD, does she have Your love?"
He smiled as He reached out and took my hand. I looked down and saw the scars and in love, reached out to touch them, He took both my hands in His and said, "Of course. She has my love. When she looked again into the eyes of the child, she saw my love for her there, and remembered how it used to comfort her and bring her peace. She reached out and touched the child and was returned to Me.
"Oh, LORD... You are so very wonderful, You have given me much joy.
But LORD what of the man, the one who shrunk from your love, could not see You and ran away into the darkness in fear? What of him LORD, will he be lost?"
"No, my child, he is not lost. When he looked into your eyes, he saw my compassion for him, and though he fled into the darkness in doubt and fear, he remembered Me. As he trembled in the darkness crying out in his pain, he remembered the peace he once felt when I cradled him in my arms. As he stumbled in the darkness, he cried out and the Light of my love came to him and he came running into My open arms"
"Oh, LORD, how can it be that You love me so much and that You have given me these wonderful gifts? How can I possibly deserve You?" As I rested my head on His shoulder, basking in the great love I felt in His arms, my thoughts wandered to the man with the bible... and I said,
"LORD, what of the man with the bible? Why couldn't he see my love? Is he still wandering around blinded by the beauty of creation, never seeing that it is not Your love, but a gift of Your love? What of this man LORD?"
The LORD gave a slight frown and shook His head, "This man is a hard case... this man has stored up his treasures in his heart and there is no longer room for Me, he "sees" Me in My gifts and he "knows" Me because of the evidence of My gifts. He worships Me because I am the giver of all good things and he knows all things are Mine and I will gladly share. But he does not want to share, he wants to store up My gifts for himself and hold them to himself, refusing to bless others with the things I have blessed him. He sees the shadows of My love in the blessings I give, and worships THEM, but because of his selfish heart, he cannot accept MY LOVE. IF I should attempt to fill this man with MY LOVE, I would break him."
Tears filled my eyes as I thought of this man's condition, he so desperately needed love, but his heart would have to break before he could ever see Jesus. .
"LORD what can I do for this man, how can I help him? Can he not be saved?"
"MY LOVE, remember when we met this man as we walked together and how you tried so hard to show MY LOVE to him, yet he was blinded by the shadows and the glory of creation, how you reached out and touched him, but he faded into the darkness. He felt your touch, and just for a moment he remembered and felt MY LOVE, as he stumbled in the darkness he tripped over the treasures he had built up and would fall, but MY LOVE was right there to pick him up, because as you know, MY LOVE is strong..."
"Yes, Jesus I know the power of Your love, but please tell me, what of this man, did you save him? Does this man have your love?"
He smiled and drew me close and said, "Yes LOVE, he does"
"But LORD, how does this man have Your love?" and He laughed out loud and swung me over His head as He said, "You gave it to him, MY LOVE, you gave it to him."
| e.s.t.h.e.r in the arms of Jesus @
1/16/2006 12:25:00 pm |
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