Never More Like God

I am in Tuscaloosa Alabama. Roll Tide! Amen? My cousin is getting married this evening. Her name is Jennifer. It is such a big deal. I don't think our minds can really comprehend how great this day really is. There are a lot of mixed emotions with the family. My wife's family is really close, and cousins are just as close as brothers and sisters in this family. "Is Andrew really good enough for Jennifer?" I have asked myself the same question over and over again as I know that many others have. And on the flip-side- "Is Jennifer really good enough for Andrew?" Questions from the other side.
Truth is- they love each other. It's pretty obvious.

I was just reading in my journal and found something that has made me stop and think. It's good to stop and think sometimes. It is something that I have come back to several times since I first journaled these thoughts...
Bruce Waltke wrote in his commentary on Genesis- "A man and woman are never more like God than on their wedding day when they commit themselves unconditionally to one another."
Unconditional Commitment. It makes me sad to think that my commitment to God has become conditional. I learn again and again what it means when God says "Return to your first love."
When I chose Christ, I committed to UNCONDITIONAL LOVE- Both ways. I embrace his unconditional love for me, and I strive for unconditional love for Jesus.
God has always loved me unconditionally,
uninterrupted,
and un-die-ingly. It never fades.

When I have been silent and ignorant to Him, He has LOVED me.
When situations distract me from LOVING Him, He consistently LOVED me.
When I felt like my relationship with Him was Dead, it was ALWAYS very much ALIVE, because
He
&
His
LOVE
never die.

My wife is the Matron of Honor tonight. She is beautiful. She will be stunning. And a great assistant to the bride.
The first wedding must have been very beautiful. "And the Lord brought the woman to the man." -Gen 2:22
Words probably don't do justice to the moment. Moses went straight to the point, but let your imagination run wild and look around the garden as Adam, sin untouched, breathes in the air and enjoys the beauty that God has placed him in. God, as proud as a father walking the bride down the aisle, brings his most prized creation, the woman, to his other prized creation, the man. Joy must have flooded all of their hearts. This is unity. This is perfection. Remember- "It is not good for man to be alone." This is pure goodness. See Adam look into the eyes of the Father, and thank him with a giant smile. See God smile a God-sized smile back at him and nod as if to say, "You are welcome. Enjoy." See the woman, knowing without a doubt that she stands between two who would gladly lay down their lives for her. See the freedom and purity in her face because she knows that she is loved and accepted. Unconditional love exists amongst them. It must have been a beautiful day. And so is today. "A man and woman are never more like God than on their wedding day when they commit themselves unconditionally to one another." Andrew and Jennifer wil stand before hundreds. Some will not appreciate it. Some will hold their breath, though, because they know that this day is special. Some will feel the presence of the Proud Father, standing amongst them, saying "This is good. Enjoy one another. And always LOVE."

I will never be more like God than when I love people unconditionally. When I love others. Unconditionally. When I love my wife. Unconditionally. When I love Jesus. Unconditionally.

Come Lord, I am waiting.

the unfamiliar voice of Jesus

"One thing you lack. Go, sell everything you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
"How hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!"
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."
"Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him."
Is he talking to me?
How do I deal with that?
Did Jesus really mean what He said?
And what would it be like if we really believed Him?
I am finding that being a Christian isn't just an event. The more time I spend with Jesus the more I realize that it's not so easy to follow him. Faith is something I have to grapple with. It's hard to follow someone I cannot see. And the more I try to talk spiritual and the more I try to prove myself to be deep, I begin to lose sight of Jesus. Maybe that's what was wrong with the Pharisees... they thought they could carry the Kingdom of God on their shoulders. Jesus shows me that I will only find him when I become nothing for Him. The poor, the beggars, the disabled, the dumb, the blind, the deaf, the rednecks, the women and children, (and even the dead!), knew the voice of Jesus. I hope my life proves to be very familiar with the way of the poor and simple instead of the spiritual elite. Because then I will know the voice of Jesus, and it will be sweet to me.
Come, Jesus. Come. I am waiting...

The one whom Jesus loves...

I am beginning to post this blog. It's more in hopes that it will help me put into words what I believe God is showing me through His Word, His people, and everyday life. There is so much pressure to have the perfect title at the beginning- it's like I want to be that creative artsy fartsy guy who is incredible with words... but it's not going to happen I am afraid. But my real reason for this blog is to hopefully be real, and to please God.
I wonder what life was really like for the apostle John. Son of Thunder... the Beloved Disciple... or "the one whom Jesus loved" (as if there were others whom Jesus didn't love). When I look in the mirror I see a flabby man who is beginning to, sadly, grow older and slower. I see a man who falls short in so many areas . . . from being a great husband, to being a great leader, to being a righteous man, to being a good athlete. How differently John saw himself! When he looked in the mirror, he saw "the one whom Jesus loved." Was it pride to refer to himself as the "one whom Jesus loved" in his gospel? Or was he in on something that I need to try to grasp? If I were to have written John's gospel, I think it would have referred to John as the "cocky guy" or the "full-of-himself jerk" or the "Son of a . . . Thunder."
Maybe John was just better than me at coming to grips with grace. The man who asked Jesus if it was appropriate to call down fire from heaven to completely destroy an entire village because they rejected Jesus was eventually destroyed by the life and death of Jesus. The gospel changed the man. The hard-heart was broken down to a soft heart. Lover of Self was changed to Lover of Humanity. The man who wanted to be number 1 (Mark 10:35-37) lived the rest of his life dying to be last. Why? My guess is that his own eyes saw the crucifixion of the only One that deserved to be number 1. He watched his best friend die, and I think it just changed things for him. I wonder when the truth of what happened really settled into his heart... Was it when the Sanhedrin were upset with him for telling others about the news that the Kingdom of God had come... and it looked like a man dying on a cross? Did the truth that "I am the one whom Jesus loves" sink in when he watched his best friend leave the earth and on his way tell them "I promise you. I am with you always, to the very end of the age." I wonder if it sank in when he heard the news that his brother James had been killed for telling others about the love of his friend and savior Jesus.
I keep getting caught up thinking about the reality of it all. My wife would tell you that I could go on and on about this guy named John and how Jesus changed his life. I hope that my life will end up looking a lot like Jesus... I hope that my life will end up looking kind of like John's did too. One who had been changed from hopeless and wandering to "The one whom Jesus loves." What would life be like if every time I looked in the mirror, I saw with my eyes and knew in my heart that I am the one Jesus loves?
Come Jesus. Come. I am waiting...