Today I proof read a book that I wrote for my family. It's actually a revision of the blog posts I wrote for the Scandalous Love series we did a few months ago. It's been a while since I read these and in some ways it felt like I was reading them for the first time. I felt like I was having a new revelation of God's love and I wrote these words. Either it is pretty good stuff or my memory is waining.
This reminds me of just how much we need a fresh encounter with God's love on a regular basis. It's too easy for me to miss this reality with all that is going on in my life. Getting stuff done or just making it through the day can consume my life. And all the while God is walking nearer to me than my own breath.
Last week I got the new iPhone 4. It is always with me. Its my flashlight, my novel, my dictionary, my email, my news source and even my Bible. I'm even writing this post on it now. I use it so much that when it's charging I feel like something is missing. At times, my walk in the Spirit is like this, but to be honest too much of my life is lived as if God does not exist. With four kids seven and under, I feel like I'm having to learn all over again what it means to follow Jesus. Praying now looks a lot different than anything that I have ever read in a book or heard in sermon. I'm a lot more honest and a lot less programed. I now see how much of my previous prayers were like following the proper steps to make a app work on my iPhone and not really about relating to the God of love who is nearer than my breath.
Encountering and being encountered by love is a great mystery. I wish I could find a nice little plan to make sure I get enough of God's love, but then it would stop being love. I have to make room in my life for God's love and refrain from filling it up with all kinds of good stuff that might make life look fulfilling but actually leave me wanting more.
How do you create space in your life to receive God's love?
This reminds me of just how much we need a fresh encounter with God's love on a regular basis. It's too easy for me to miss this reality with all that is going on in my life. Getting stuff done or just making it through the day can consume my life. And all the while God is walking nearer to me than my own breath.
Last week I got the new iPhone 4. It is always with me. Its my flashlight, my novel, my dictionary, my email, my news source and even my Bible. I'm even writing this post on it now. I use it so much that when it's charging I feel like something is missing. At times, my walk in the Spirit is like this, but to be honest too much of my life is lived as if God does not exist. With four kids seven and under, I feel like I'm having to learn all over again what it means to follow Jesus. Praying now looks a lot different than anything that I have ever read in a book or heard in sermon. I'm a lot more honest and a lot less programed. I now see how much of my previous prayers were like following the proper steps to make a app work on my iPhone and not really about relating to the God of love who is nearer than my breath.
Encountering and being encountered by love is a great mystery. I wish I could find a nice little plan to make sure I get enough of God's love, but then it would stop being love. I have to make room in my life for God's love and refrain from filling it up with all kinds of good stuff that might make life look fulfilling but actually leave me wanting more.
How do you create space in your life to receive God's love?
2 comments:
You lost me when you wrote you got the new iPhone.
You dog.
I live on this thing. it's wild how much I can do on it. I write most of my first drafts on it now. I just use a little blue tooth keyboard and type away. For some reason, I can free write this way better.
Post a Comment