On Monday, January 6th of the year of our Lord 2014 (This is really beginning to sound important, I hope!), two things happened that have made an impact in my life: 1. I started fighting a cold that led to the flu, and
2. The wife of my youngest son went into labor which led to the birth of a beautiful baby boy.
The Flu and a birth, how in the world have the thoughts of those collided this early cold Saturday morning in January? Oh ...sorry, there is one more thought that has been invading the mix (that hopefully in a few short words I can get you a little help that hopefully comes with the malady of reading these weekly invasions of our spiritual privacy) and it came out of the Lyrics of a popular (but not uniquely thematic) worship song that was being sung on a Sunday morning “I want to be like Jesus!”.
Please hang on, and understand that in these last days God's Spirit is “raising up” His people as He has done from the beginning. This raising up is a “drawing closer” to Him. ( “Abba, Father!”)And the verbal expressions of the desire of those who draw close in devotion is not only irrepressible but many times inexpressible. (“Abba, Father!”) I was told that if you can't express your feelings, you don't truly understand; and to that I say “Amen!” I do not fully understand the Love of my God; but that is why I am so daily captured by an awe of Him, His love for me, and His desire to use me to introduce His love to others”. (“Abba, Father!)
My continual prayer is that my beggarly input each week would have the arms of our souls outstretched upward and the hands of our hearts turned outward as we sense the call of the Spirit drawing us closer...I John 1:3 (Hear this desire in the words of the Beloved Apostle John) “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.” What John had truly seen with his eyes and truly heard with his ears, he was declaring with this desire: that the things that the Father was sharing in love with him would also be contagious in all who believe.
So let's pull this together. What does the flu, the birth of a baby, and the lyrics “I want to be like Jesus” have in common?
THE BIRTH - When I asked my son how he was doing with the birth of his son his words best summarized the moment: “ I feel like I have no control!”
THE FLU – I wanted so bad to see my new grandson but could not because of my illness - “I felt helpless because I couldn't physically see my new grandson, Out of my control”.
The lyrics, I WANT TO BE LIKE JESUS, express a noble and compelling desire in song but a little beyond our control. If we really think about it we may hear Jesus speaking to Peter when Peter said he was ready to go to prison and death for him - “Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied me thrice!” . Like Peter, do we really understand the full implications of what we are saying? Of course we don't! But our lack of understanding the implications of what we are asking doesn't cause God to withdraw His active love for us.
“Out of Our Control” is not a bad thing if our reflex is to trust God in it all. A birth can lead to a baby, the flu can lead back to health; the phrase “I want to be like Jesus” can lead us to a life that lives more openly in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ. As we read His Word and fellowship with Him daily we will see the intensity of this desire to know Him grow. We will begin to lose the selfish perspective that it is all about me, and we will start to grow in the knowledge and desire that it is all about Him.
I John 2:17 – “And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.” This captivating world around us and its misleading and frustrating cravings is wasting away little by little, but he that fosters the desires of God remains connected and purposeful for ever.
“I do, but I don't want to be like Jesus (Rom.7:19); I want to be closer to Him and have a growing gratefulness of Him loving me, not just an ache of an expression of a song that I sing.
HLFA,
JEFF