Deeper part 1
"Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and billows are gone over me" (Psalm 42:7). I know I've read this verse many times. But I can't remember exactly when it was that I HEARD this verse. Or at least that phrase, "Deep calleth unto deep." But whenever it was that it hit me, it's always stuck with me. I think this is such an important concept. Because there's a lot of surface stuff. A lot of, if you want to call it, "world" stuff. External. Exterior. It's all around us all the time screaming for our attention. And then there's something deep within. A still, small voice that whispers the ultimate truth of the universe, "The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand" (John 3:35). There's something deep (God... love) that calls out to something deep (the heart, our true identity) IN US. But for some reason it seems like the surface stuff is more powerful. I'm not saying it IS more powerful... God is ALL powerful, which doesn't mean MOST powerful, but means He has ALL the power. I'm saying it SEEMS like the surface stuff is more powerful. Or, at the very least, more convenient. Because it's right there on the surface. It's like--again, I'm not saying it IS, I'm saying it's LIKE--that old man beast nature is our default. It seems to be what where we start, or what we fall back on. And as I just got done saying in the last Rant series, that's not how it has to be. Really, that's not how it is at all. We don't have to try it ourselves and then call on God when we get in over our heads. In fact, looking at it in a different way lets us know that diving in deep is the best thing we can do. Letting God BE our lives (instead of just part of our lives) is the only way we can really experience that relationship between loving heavenly Father and beloved Son in whom He is well pleased that IS eternal life. But here's the thing--and I talk about this with my grandma all the time--the deeper you go... the deeper you WANT to go. When you ask questions, you often find that you might get SOME answer, but more than likely you'll just get more questions. And that's ok. This "Christian" life is not about having it all figured out. It's about the life-long journey into the heart of the matter. And the heart of the matter... is the heart. It's a life-long journey of God (love) revealing Himself to us and in us and through us. And love is both simple and vast. It can be the smallest thing in the world--a hug, or a shoulder to cry on, a friendly word, a smile--but it is also the biggest, most important thing there is. Look at Ephesians 3:16-19, "That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend will all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God." Exploring God's love for us. Going and deeper and deeper as He strengthens us in the INNER man. The hidden man of the heart. Because when you know what's deep inside... it comes out all on it's (His) own!