Yesterday I was reacquainted with the fact that the Bible is a love story written just for me. A love story written so that I could deeply engage in a powerfully intimate 2-way relationship with my Lord and Savior who is also my husband. I think back to the ways I've felt and acted in earthly love relationships and I couldn't wait to spend more time with a boyfriend or talk to him or see him. I would put homework and other tasks aside in a heartbeat if it meant more time with him. I want to see Christ this way and want to devour his love letters to me. I remember when my heart thrilled with joy at the site of an email, Facebook message, random physical note, or other such communication from an earthly love and wonder why I don't usually feel the same way when opening up the scriptures as I read the Word's of a man who died for me - not only to save me in this earthly life but to save me from ultimate damnation so that I would be able to spend eternity with Him!! What love is greater than that??
And now for some quotes from Chapter 6 of Unstuck >>
Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, "The Word of Scripture should never stop sounding in your ears and working in you all day long, just like the words of someone you love. And just as you do not analyze the words of someone you love, but accept them as they are said to you, accept the Word of Scripture and ponder it in your heart, as Mary did." [emphasis mine]
Michael Ross, Unstuck author - "God's Word is a living masterpiece - a passionate love story - yet we often treat it as a legal resource to use as proof of what we believe." [emphasis mine]
Michael Ross - "He wasn't leading me into Bible reading - He was compelling me to engage His message to me with a lover's passion. He was showing me how to find my Savior in His pages...how to have 'a daily walk with Jesus.'" [emphasis mine]
And lastly, a quote from Ian Morgan Cron's novel, Chasing Francis: A Pilgrim's Tale [I haven't read this] on what the Bible really is beyond the doctrines and commandments, "But the Bible is less about ideas or doctrines than it is a story about people and their up-and-down relationship with God." How true this is! As little kids, we hear stories of big time biblical leaders from the pages of Scripture, but are often spared the messy details. As we get older and start reading the Bible for ourselves, we see that each one of them has some sort of downfall, sin that keeps trapping them in their humanity. We are shown the fallibility of biblical/historical heroes so that we can truly see the extent of God's love and see how these heroes have a genuine 2-way relationship with God/Christ where He moves in their lives to change and mold them as they learn and grow.
And once again, Jimmy Needham puts it brilliantly:
Take me, my love, escape with my heart
In chasing You
I will run right past the radiant sun
Until I find myself right where You are
So then, how did cleaning go yesterday?
- Well, I conquered LBS!!!! Woohoo :-) ...for a day at least lol. I washed 3 loads and folded and put away all 3. I even folded and put up the sheets I washed rather than just piling them on my bed, which seems to be my unfortunate habit...
- I also did a good bit of random maintenance cleaning, the results of which feel great this morning!
- And I ran the dishwasher and already have the clean dishes drying :-)
So not too much in the realm of organizing but I feel less buried and overburdened - which makes the organizing easier and makes me feel less stressed out.
I won't make goals today - we'll just have to see how everything goes...but I'm hopeful.
State-of-mind pic of the day.
Me in awed happiness in Maasailand, TZE.
(taken by me)
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