The "Not-So-Flowery" with - God Life

My daughter and I LOVE word pictures...in fact we actually think in pictures - I know some of you do too.  Sometimes I have to translate my thoughts from pictures to words.  However, I was in a conversation yesterday and it caused me to consider how 'flowery' speech can sometimes come across as insincere or hard to follow so here is a rewrite of yesterday's blog post...


Have you ever come to a point in your spiritual life when you find yourself thinking, "Is this all there is?....There's has to be more than this when it comes to my relationship with God."  Something just seems like it is missing and your are not sure what.

That's what happens when God invites us to go beyond what we have known and experienced a deeper, abiding relationship with Him.  We feel a frustration with the status-quo, disappointment, boredom,  or a longing for “more” (Whatever “more” may be.)  I know all of us at some point can relate to what I'm saying.  Perhaps what has been harder to identify are the wrestlings that come along as we choose to respond to God's invite.

Sometimes our choice to follow God has required us to release unhealthy relationships with others and that's hard.  Personally, It's also hard to step out into the unknown and trust the future to someone other than myself.  It doesn’t matter if this person is God or not, the plain truth of the matter is, I hate to give up control! Which brings up the next wrestling, responding to God’s invitation means letting go of things that we may love.    Sometimes we can fear the loss is so great that the journey to follow is not worth it, or the wooing of comfort and familiarity is far too appealing and we’d rather not mess with a good thing....are you getting my drift ? :)  We want God...but sometimes we don't what ALL of God.  We like the part that implies blessing but would rather skip over the part that says, "Deny yourself, take up your cross daily and follow me."  And yet, in the laying down of our life for his, we discover a life with God that promises to be full, rich, and utterly satisfying.  What does it look like to intend our life God’s direction and set sail on a sea of discovery with Him?


It is often when we reach a point of discontentment, boredom, or are made aware of an injustice in the world in which we live, that we are disrupted to a point of wanting something to be different.  Frankly, if it’s up to me, I will almost always choose the comfort of predictability over the disruption of the unknown any day of the week!  I guess God knows that so He allows my life to be disrupted, which means I am dislodged from my place of complacency and can more readily choose to step out towards living life conversationally side-by-side with Him in His Kingdom…something each of us are made for and we will itch and ache for it until we find it.  It’s strange how we think that pursuing a dynamic relationship with the God and Creator of the universe will lead to less …not more.

To respond to God’s invitation to follow him more intentionally means we must face the reality that not all of our relationships will share the same sentiment.  In fact, we may be put in a position where we have to choose to either follow God or remain moored to the broken systems of relating that have characterized some of our friendships thus far.  Letting go can be a painful process!  We grieve the loss and wish in some strange way that things could be as they were.  Yet we cannot deny the fact that we are being drawn to something new and it is impacting those we are in relationship with.  As we change, our way of relating changes, conversations change, what we preoccupy our mind with changes, and it opens up a new world creating new interests within us.

 

As we move toward this "new world", There is the whole “packing for the trip of your life and not sure what to bring” scenario.  I am always befuddled when it comes to packing.  I either pack too little or too much.  Strangely, much like to forgetting to pack underwear, I can leave behind some of the most critical items for the journey like, mercy, justice, or love...you know, just the basic character qualities a child of the Good-King God is characterized by...nothing big.   But if you need inward sarcasm, impatience, or temper-tantrums...I just might be your girl sometimes!  It's basically like packing a prom dress for a nature hike. 

SO...So this with-God life means I will seek to put on or "wear" the character of Christ.  I will pay attention to the things I DID pack and let them go as needed.  Once I packed for a trip and brought along a huge coat which would have been great if the weather was 30 degrees below zero, but it wasn’t and I ended up carting that thing around everywhere.  It was such a hindrance!  There are things we often want to keep in our with-God journey that may be weighing us down and entangling us in a system of broken or false dependence.  Like trusting God and my bank account.  Or choosing to follow Christ so long as it does not mar my image or reputation…you get my drift. 

The funny thing is that when we give up the things we thought we needed, we discover they were never really needed in the first place.  The less caught up we are in all of it, the freer we become, and we can learn to abide with God in such a way that we actually find our life is expanded, fuller & richer!  We companion with Him and his presence is far better than any “end result” we thought status, money, or posh comfort could ever bring. 

So I guess that about sums up in plain, not-so-flowery speech, what the previous posts said...I would love to hear your thoughts in response...