The Journey part 5
I said it to start this Rant series and I'll say it again to end this Rant series: The journey of life is not about trying to get from point A to point B. The journey of life is a journey into the heart of the matter. And the heart of the matter... is the heart. It's all about love. And that's what we have. That's what the Holy Spirit reveals to us. So rather than a journey of trying to get somewhere or trying to get something, life is a journey of exploration and discovery. We already have everything we need because we have Jesus. We have already arrived in the Promised Land. So now, rather than wandering around like strangers in the land of promise, rather than coming to Daddy with our hands out like beggers, we can begin to experience and enjoy the gift that we have been given. We can begin to know and believe the love of Christ. We can begin to live the abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrecion Life by letting Jesus live it in and through and as us. That's the journey... not getting anything (because, again, we already have it all) but letting go of some things. Letting go of control. Letting go our idea of what life is supposed to be. Letting go of our preconcieved notions and our expectations so that God can do whatever He wants to do, for us in us and through us. Because what He has in mind is, "...exceedingly above all that we ask or think..." (Ephesians 3:20). Sometimes I think we limit God by thinking too small. Like... we figure out what we think this life is supposed to be, and then we reject anything outside of that box. Or we judge things by good and evil and we miss out on LIFE. Look at Romans 14:14 in the Message Bible, "I'm convinced--Jesus convinced me!--that everything as it is in itself is holy. We, of course, by the way we treat it or talk about it, can contaminate it." See, we try to build a good life... we try to take the right journey... but we don't understand that ALL of life is a journey. It's a life-long journey. And if the journey is life-long, and we have everlasting life... that means the journey never ends. Every experience adds to it. Every mistake is something to learn from. Sometimes you have to do it wrong before you can do it right; that's called learning. And if we look at our mistakes--not as bad things, but as holy things--then we can get off the up and down, good and evil, rollercoaster of life and we can begin to enjoy the ride. That's the point. The work is finished. We are WHO we need to be, and we are WHERE we need to be. Jesus took a three days' journey from the earth to cross, from the cross to the grave, from the grave to heaven. And He did that both for us and AS us. So WE'VE already taken the journey. Now, as that finished work, that journey, that LIFE is revealed to us and in us and through us, it manifests. What is already true becomes true... for us. We get to the heart of the matter when we understand that God's heart is beating with love in our chests. We enjoy the journey when we understand that it's all about love. The journey is exploring the height, depth, length, and breadth of God's love for us.