ARRESTED! (that would be me)
Actually, I probably should have titled this, “Re-arrested”. :-)
Apprehended . . . captured . . . hooked . . . picked up, pulled in, taken in . . . seized . . . taken prisoner . . . by the love of Jesus. God, who became a man—for me!
For months now, I have been praying that the Lord would stir up my heart for the lost . . . a heart to extend the Kingdom . . . a heart to actively do my part to fulfill the Great Commission. I got an answer to my prayer. But it came in such an unexpected, overwhelming and wonderful way – and only then did I realize it was not a heart for the lost that I was lacking!
For several weeks now, I have felt a compulsion, a need to take a fresh look through the Gospels at the One in the Trinity who was fully God, yet fully human—Jesus. I have for many years felt very close to God as my Father, and to the Holy Spirit as my Comforter, my Friend and my Guide, both empowering me and fellowshipping with me.
But Jesus? . . . I am deeply assured of Him as my Savior, my Redeemer, my Lord, and my God, the One who sits at the right hand of the Father. I would not be where I am today were it not for encountering Him as the Way, the Truth and the Life.
But the Son of God—Savior, Redeemer, Lord, God—was also the Son of Man—brother, cousin, nephew, friend, carpenter’s son, mother’s little baby.
In his book, “God Came Near”, Max Lucado writes:
“For thirty-three years he would feel everything you and I ever felt. He felt weak. He grew weary. He was afraid of failure. He was susceptible to wooing women. He got colds, burped, and had body odor. His feelings got hurt. His feet got tired. And his head ached.
To think of Jesus in such a light is—well, it seems almost irreverent, doesn’t it? It’s not something we like to do; it’s uncomfortable. It is much easier to keep the humanity out of the incarnation. Clean the manure from around the manger. Wipe the sweat out of his eyes. Pretend he never snored or blew his nose or hit his thumb with a hammer.
He’s easier to stomach that way. There is something about keeping him divine that keeps him distant, packaged, predictable.
But don’t do it. For heaven’s sake, don’t. Let him be as human as he intended to be. Let him into the muck and mire of our world. For only if we let him in can he pull us out.”
Last week I spent some time reviewing Max Lucado’s 8-week book/video study, Next Door Savior. I watched all of the video segments while reading along in the participant's guide. When Donna awoke from a nap, she found me with tears streaming down my face. I just could not stop, but neither could I stop smiling at the same time. :-) I told her that I was just completely overwhelmed (in the most wonderful way), as I never have been, by Jesus—God who became a man for me. Since then, I have sensed daily not my nearness to Jesus, but rather His nearness to me.
The most practical way I could explain it to her was with this: I never had the opportunity to meet my Grandfather, Vernon Austin Allred. He died of cancer before my father completed his senior year in high school. But from a young age, my Memaw (his wife who died a few years ago), my great aunts and uncles, my Dad and his brother told me stories and stories about Vernon. I grew to know him and to love him, and even to miss him dearly, not only from the stories I was told - but by the great love, affection, tenderness, honor and respect from which everyone spoke of him. All of these things brought near to me a man I had never met.
As I listened to Max Lucado underscore the humanity of Jesus through different snapshots of the Gospels, Jesus came alive and came near to me, is near to me in a way that rivals anything I have experienced. And the closer He gets, the more I am overcome by how much He loves me - and I am even more irresistibly drawn to Him and by Him. I haven't been able to get through a day yet without tears coming to the surface, knowing just how close He came for me—because He loved me.
Divinity came down in a body that was created just like mine. God came down in a way that He knew I could most relate to Him (and further, to the Father and the Holy Spirit) - as a human like me. "For God so loved the world" . . . that He came near to the ones He loves. :-) And He left it to humans, to us, to continue bringing Him near to others (the Great Commission).
Earlier, I said . . . for months, I have been praying that the Lord would stir up my heart for those who are lost. I have unexpectedly found that (and maybe this is a "duh" moment?) it was not a heart for the lost which I was lacking. What I needed was a heart that was undone—arrested—by Jesus' love for me, which compelled Him to come down here for me. For that is the fire compelling me to "go" and share this with others, to take Him near to the ones He loves. :-)
Do you know how dearly, dearly you are loved?
Apprehended . . . captured . . . hooked . . . picked up, pulled in, taken in . . . seized . . . taken prisoner . . . by the love of Jesus. God, who became a man—for me!
For months now, I have been praying that the Lord would stir up my heart for the lost . . . a heart to extend the Kingdom . . . a heart to actively do my part to fulfill the Great Commission. I got an answer to my prayer. But it came in such an unexpected, overwhelming and wonderful way – and only then did I realize it was not a heart for the lost that I was lacking!
For several weeks now, I have felt a compulsion, a need to take a fresh look through the Gospels at the One in the Trinity who was fully God, yet fully human—Jesus. I have for many years felt very close to God as my Father, and to the Holy Spirit as my Comforter, my Friend and my Guide, both empowering me and fellowshipping with me.
But Jesus? . . . I am deeply assured of Him as my Savior, my Redeemer, my Lord, and my God, the One who sits at the right hand of the Father. I would not be where I am today were it not for encountering Him as the Way, the Truth and the Life.
But the Son of God—Savior, Redeemer, Lord, God—was also the Son of Man—brother, cousin, nephew, friend, carpenter’s son, mother’s little baby.
In his book, “God Came Near”, Max Lucado writes:
“For thirty-three years he would feel everything you and I ever felt. He felt weak. He grew weary. He was afraid of failure. He was susceptible to wooing women. He got colds, burped, and had body odor. His feelings got hurt. His feet got tired. And his head ached.
To think of Jesus in such a light is—well, it seems almost irreverent, doesn’t it? It’s not something we like to do; it’s uncomfortable. It is much easier to keep the humanity out of the incarnation. Clean the manure from around the manger. Wipe the sweat out of his eyes. Pretend he never snored or blew his nose or hit his thumb with a hammer.
He’s easier to stomach that way. There is something about keeping him divine that keeps him distant, packaged, predictable.
But don’t do it. For heaven’s sake, don’t. Let him be as human as he intended to be. Let him into the muck and mire of our world. For only if we let him in can he pull us out.”
Last week I spent some time reviewing Max Lucado’s 8-week book/video study, Next Door Savior. I watched all of the video segments while reading along in the participant's guide. When Donna awoke from a nap, she found me with tears streaming down my face. I just could not stop, but neither could I stop smiling at the same time. :-) I told her that I was just completely overwhelmed (in the most wonderful way), as I never have been, by Jesus—God who became a man for me. Since then, I have sensed daily not my nearness to Jesus, but rather His nearness to me.
The most practical way I could explain it to her was with this: I never had the opportunity to meet my Grandfather, Vernon Austin Allred. He died of cancer before my father completed his senior year in high school. But from a young age, my Memaw (his wife who died a few years ago), my great aunts and uncles, my Dad and his brother told me stories and stories about Vernon. I grew to know him and to love him, and even to miss him dearly, not only from the stories I was told - but by the great love, affection, tenderness, honor and respect from which everyone spoke of him. All of these things brought near to me a man I had never met.
As I listened to Max Lucado underscore the humanity of Jesus through different snapshots of the Gospels, Jesus came alive and came near to me, is near to me in a way that rivals anything I have experienced. And the closer He gets, the more I am overcome by how much He loves me - and I am even more irresistibly drawn to Him and by Him. I haven't been able to get through a day yet without tears coming to the surface, knowing just how close He came for me—because He loved me.
Divinity came down in a body that was created just like mine. God came down in a way that He knew I could most relate to Him (and further, to the Father and the Holy Spirit) - as a human like me. "For God so loved the world" . . . that He came near to the ones He loves. :-) And He left it to humans, to us, to continue bringing Him near to others (the Great Commission).
Earlier, I said . . . for months, I have been praying that the Lord would stir up my heart for those who are lost. I have unexpectedly found that (and maybe this is a "duh" moment?) it was not a heart for the lost which I was lacking. What I needed was a heart that was undone—arrested—by Jesus' love for me, which compelled Him to come down here for me. For that is the fire compelling me to "go" and share this with others, to take Him near to the ones He loves. :-)
Do you know how dearly, dearly you are loved?
posted by Dawn Allred at 8:40 AM
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