I've been doing some thinking about relationships. When we look up to people and they don't seem to look up to us, we often respond by trying too hard to change their minds about us. Then there are the people who take us just as we are. They don't give off any "impress me" vibes. You relax in their presence, even though you may admire them enormously. Jesus is not an "impress Me" kind of person. He can see right into your heart, so don't even bother trying to impress Him. But when He's looking right into your heart, He's not just seeing the mess. He's also seeing that there's a person in there, made in His image, who desperately needs to come out. You can't impress Him, but you can please Him. Not by trying to get Him to see you as better than you are, but by coming to Him just as you are right now. People who give off "impress me" vibes can never please Him. So we should stop trying to impress them. Stop trying to change their minds about us, and begin relaxing into the love of Jesus. As people see themselves reflected in His eyes, they will begin to see their true nature, both their brokenness and their potential beauty. He comes to reclaim both these things. |
I just happened across this little post from a year and a half ago, and it seemed like very good advice (for me, too). Thought I'd pass it on again:
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Dear Jesus,
Whatever happens, whatever You take me through, whatever crazy things go on, however divided and dark this age is, however hopeless things appear sometimes, however long the path seems... I am Yours forever. You aren't sending me away (though sometimes I don't know why), You are drawing me to Yourself -- even through all of the above. There's no one higher than You, no one wiser than You, no one lovelier than You. You know every pain and joy eternal years before it reaches me. You time their arrival meticulously, to tell me, "My seal is upon you; I am weaving your life." I've seen this recently, and I will see it forever, because my heart is Yours. I wish I could get back the years I stole from You, when I walked around with a half-understanding of who You were to me. I regret so much the hurt I caused You, and I regret so many things that have resulted from that time; I want to repay it to You somehow. You, though, seem to be present always in the moment that is, victorious over all that was or will be. You are smiling at me. You're not asking for repayment. You're only saying, "Let's go," and reaching for my hand. You are all about moving forward, even if sometimes the catalyst You use is pain. Can I tell You something? You have honoured me in so many ways. I will never deserve You, but I will wear Your honour and love forever. Sweet, perfect One. "I love You" seems like such a small thing to say to You. I want to say it with so much more than words. Only You can walk me there. It's by Your grace that I've been saved and by Your grace that I will step in to whatever purpose You have for me. The "I love You" I can offer You here on earth is so very small, but to You it's a sweet seed. One You planted, and which -- now blooming -- will bloom forever. So, please take my inadequate "I love You," and let me learn Your own entirely perfect one. You take the lead; my love must follow Yours. I hear Your "May I have this dance?" and I reply without words, by stepping closer to You. “For thus says the Lord,
‘Your wound is incurable And your injury is serious. ‘There is no one to plead your cause; No healing for your sore, No recovery for you. ...I will restore you to health And I will heal you of your wounds,’ declares the Lord" Jeremiah 30:12-13, 17a Does this seem to make no sense? I believe the mystery is resolved at the end of the chapter. As well as being a picture for Israel, it's also a story about all of us. In our fallen state we too are far away from Him and cannot come near -- "who would dare to risk his life to approach Me?" He says (verse 21). Yet through Christ's atoning work on the cross, we are given the chance to be brought near to God, to become His people. The final passage even reads to me in some respects like a description of Calvary: Behold, the tempest of the Lord! Wrath has gone forth, A sweeping tempest; It will burst on the head of the wicked. The fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back Until He has performed and until He has accomplished The intent of His heart; In the latter days you will understand this. Jeremiah 30:23-24 "It will burst on the head of the wicked" is shocking when read as a reference to Christ's death: the wrath of God did indeed burst on the head of the wicked (all of us), but the head that took the blow was that of the pure and perfect One. He died in our stead; He paid the price for us. This is how the incurable wound became curable. It's from nothing we did. You may wonder why this is in the "blog" section. Well, you probably didn't wonder that, but I'll tell you: Increasingly insurmountable walls separate people from the love of the God who died for them. Some of these people are my loved ones. They would struggle (to put it mildly) to see anything of Christ and His relevance behind the Christian rhetoric of our day. In the meantime, they are without access to the beautiful Saviour who longs to heal them. And occasionally, just occasionally, the enemy uses them as cannon fodder. I am the indirect target -- if he can afflict me and cause ripples of damage with the same blow, he's laughing -- but they suck it up and move on, not knowing there's a battle raging and that Someone's heart is breaking for them. This passage gives me a picture to place in front of me. It helps me not lose hope, and to remember that God hears my prayers and is committed to continuing what He started, until He has accomplished the full intent of His heart: "Your wound is incurable... I will heal you," He says to those trapped behind enemy lines. "Your wound is incurable... I will heal you," He says to those who long to rescue them, and grow weary. "Your wound is incurable... I will heal you!" These are the words of the Saviour. He knows there is not one of us who does NOT need His healing. The prisoners are not the enemy. Let's remove ourselves from the rhetoric and let the Saviour's voice be heard loud and clear. Has the Lord ever held up a mirror to you? In my life He usually does this in such a way that I don't see it coming. I trot along in my everyday ways, then suddenly something I've said or done or thought hits me so hard between the eyes that I can't bear to look at it.
...Jesus is very quiet at these moments. He lets it sink in as deeply as we're willing to let it sink in. Worse yet, He looks at us. Not in an accusing, angry way, but there's no mistaking the message: you are a sinner in need of a Saviour. Today I had such an experience. Someone who had seemingly done something wrong ended up earning what looked like his come-uppance. I don't know for certain that this person did anything wrong, but the evidence seemed to be there. So when he fell, I was honestly quite pleased. Justice. I even added a tiny behind-the-scenes stroke of justice of my own to make a statement. He wasn't aware of it, and it didn't affect the outcome, it just made me feel as though things had been set a bit more right. Then the Lord did the most appalling thing. He sent this person to me to ask my help. I did my best to help the person find a solution (even though there was no perfect solution). Then the real kicker came: the person thanked me very deeply for my help. From his perspective, I had shown him nothing but respect and consideration, and he wanted to acknowledge this. I thanked him for his kind comment and wished him all the best. ...Jesus is very quiet at these moments. He looks at us, and there's no mistaking the message: You are a sinner in need of a Saviour, and I am that Saviour. The feeling that overcomes a person at a moment like this has nowhere else to go but to the Saviour. Yes, it's very possible to run away. But the feeling will run there with you. And the only way you can get rid of this feeling yourself is to swallow it, rationalize it, beat yourself up for days, or pretend it was a good lesson and you've learned it. The Saviour wants to do more than get rid of the feeling. He wants to cleanse you. He wants to change your heart, replacing your sinfulness with His holiness. Replacing your judgmental stone heart with His perfect heart of flesh, broken for you. I don't know why it takes so many mirrors for me to see that my natural ways are the ways of death and that His natural ways are the ways of life. He will keep holding up the mirrors until I begin to grasp this. But He never says "go away, sinner." He always says You are a sinner in need of a Saviour, and I am that Saviour. Come to Me. I died for you. Let Me make you whole. |
Every truth of
Scripture leads to Christ. Charles Price .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
About me "Hephzibah" (Isaiah 62) A yet unfinished story of the Lord's perfect restoration work I live in southwestern Ontario, Canada. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| |||
2 Chronicles 7:16 בָּחַר קָדַשׁ ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| [T]o our
wounds only God’s wounds can speak. from “Jesus of the Scars” by Edward Shillito (1872-1948) Blog archives
August 2022
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...The eyes of the
Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward Him. 2 Chronicles 16:9a (KJ21) |