Fed and Led part 4
I mentioned the story of Jonah earlier in this Rant series. And I think the biggest lesson to be learned from that story is this: God knows what He's doing. He knows what's best... for you. I usually quote Jeremiah 29:11 here. But for the sake of variety I'm going with Isaiah 46:10, "Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure." And adding to it, "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32). I can still remember when I said something about God being a happy God and the (kind of shocked) question I got was, "What's He so happy about?" And I didn't even really think about it, I just kind of blurted out, "He's happy because He got what He wanted." And while that might seem a little bit childish, it's important to understand WHAT He wanted. And for that I'll quote Jeremiah 24:7, "And I will give tham an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: or they shall return unto me with their whole heart." God got what He wanted when He "got" us. And He got us, when He gave us His only begotten Son. When He gave us... Himself. The cry of God's heart all throughout the Old Testament is, "I want you to be my people. And I want to be your God. I don't want you to run FROM me. I want you to run TO me." That's why God was in Christ on the cross reconciling us back to Himself. That's why, when Jesus was lifted up from the earth, all men were drawn into Him. Because God didn't want that sense of seperation between us and Him that WE put into place when we hid from his presence after eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil (the tree of death). That's why Jesus cursed that fig tree--it couldn't produce any fruit. That was the problem with the external Law--it demanded perfection without being able to produce it. The Law could only show us what we wrong with us. Jesus came to feed us and lead us... and show us what's RIGHT with us. By showing us what's right with Him. We are the righteousness of GOD in Christ. We are complete in Him. Because He is complete in us. So this leading and feeding isn't about control and manipulation. It's not about making someone do something that's only beneficial to US. Bosses makes workers. But leaders reproduce themselves in others and make more leaders. Leaders do what's best for OTHERS. That's what God had in mind for Jonah, regardless of how Jonah himself felt about it. He wanted to give us the Kingdom. That's what gave Him pleasure, or made Him happy. And that's what happened when He gave us the King of kings. That's what happened when, as the Message Bible puts it, God moved into the neighborhood. He became our God (in the sense of us accepting and receiving Him) and we became His people (in the sense of us realizing who we really are as He reveals to us who HE really us). The feeding is Jesus Himself. His body and blood. The bread and the wine. The Lamb and the living water. And the leading is the Spirit and the bride saying, "Come." Not, "Come... or else," but, "Come and get it!" Jesus prepared a table for us in the midst of our enemies. A six-course meal also known as the Six Steps to the Throne. The finished work of the cross. He leads us into our true identity by showing us HIS true identity!