What God Wants and What Keeps Us From It
Think of someone you love dearly, who you absolutely love spending time with. Now imagine that you start to see them less and less. Then you stop hearing from them, and after a while, they don’t even return your calls or messages. You are so saddened by this and wonder why the rejection. And one day, you discover that it’s because of their guilt over not being a good enough friend to you (in their view). Perhaps they feel bad about wronging you years ago. But you tell them you just wanna hang out, you just wanna be together. You’ve forgiven them for wronging you. Your relationship and connection are way more important than wrongs of the past or even the present. Perhaps you bailed them out of trouble at some point and they never paid you back. But you don’t even care about that because being together now is so much bigger than that. You long for them to pay attention to you.
Could this be how Jesus feels about us?
In reflecting upon Eucharist, the Lord’s Table, could this be one of the things we are to be reminded of? Do this in remembrance of Me. That Jesus wants to be with you? That what He wants most of all from you is your heart? Which can translate to paying attention to Him. Paying attention to someone who loves you crazy, unconditionally, naturally lets you forget all the other perceived negatives in your life. Our happiness is largely related to what or who we pay the most attention to. Jesus knows this. We are wired for connection at birth, it’s just science.
To be fully known, fully accepted, unconditionally loved. Wouldn’t that be nice? If only someone was all that toward you…you’d throw all your focus on him or her, any price being small to pay for such a healing, soothing presence. To just bask in their subsistence.
Is this all God wants from us? For us? First and foremost?
Remember that there is nothing in the way of your connection with God. Sin is not in the way. That has been dealt with long ago. If it’s guilt, that’s totally your choice. There’s nothing at all keeping you from peace–except your refusal of it, except your rejection of connection to God through Christ. Hey, “Rejection of Connection”, that kinda rhymes.
Isn’t this what God wants? Connection. To pay attention to Him. For us not to focus so much on the sin we are saved from, but rather the life we are saved to. The early church seemed to be more focused on the victorious life than they were the mere saving from death.
Throughout all of history, God has gone to any length to be with His people. He has removed all obstacles and provided a clear path for us to be with Him. How are you holding yourself back from Life with God?
And through Christ, God has brought all things back to Himself again–things on earth and things in heaven. God made peace through the blood of Christ’s death on the cross. At one time you were separated from God. You were His enemies in your minds, and the evil things you did were against God. But now God has made you His friends again. He did this through Christ’s death in the body so that He might bring you into God’s presence as people who are holy, with no wrong, and with nothing of which God can judge you guilty.
Colossians 1:20-22
In the Name of Jesus,
Soli Deo Gloria
