(no subject)
I used to struggle with the Brussel Sprout God. You know, the God who makes you eat your brussel sprouts because they are good for you, even though you hate brussel sprouts and they make you gag. The fact that they make you gag is of no concern to Him. It is for your own good. So hush up and eat them.
I wanted to love Him and I knew He'd be mad if I didn't, but I didn't know how. After all, He torments those He cares about for their own good. The more you dare to seek Him, the worse He'll make it for you, but you can be assured it's for your own good. The Brussel Sprout God didn't offer passion. He didn't even offer some melted Velveeta to wash Him down. How do you love a God like that?
Well, you don't. Not with your whole heart. You will always withhold some tender part of your heart because you know it isn't safe with a Brussel Sprout God.
The Brussel Sprout God was a lie from the pit of hell. A perversion of truth that made the God who longs for us to approach Him, unapproachable.
God is intimately and infinitely interested in the smallest details of our lives. He passionately pursues our hearts. God is not a ego-centric narcissist, only interested in self-promotion. Which is funny, because He could rightfully be that way. But for some reason known only to Him, He created a race of beings that He KNEW would betray Him, and He decided to partner with them from the time of their creation through the rest of eternity. The tricky part is drawing us, because we are stubborn and inherently rebellious and fearful. His bait? Love. Passion. Compassion. Power. Peace. And more love. Our lives matter to Him. As individuals, we matter. He cares. He factors it all in when we're in relationship with Him. Yes, He will discipline us. Yes, we might have to eat a few brussel sprouts. But I've learned that He works in our hearts so that we are willing to accept brussel sprouts out of our desire to know and follow Him more and more.
I know alcoholics. I know girls who will do anything for the attention of a male. I know porn addicts. I know drug users. I know gossipy attention-mongers. I know churched people who are dying of boredom. I know people who escape into fantasy worlds. I know people trapped in cycles of fear and resentment. I know people who are tormented by their own failings. I know people whose hearts writhe in pain because those who should have protected them didn't. I've been many of these people. We all want to be touched by something deeper than our skin. We all long to be known and cherished. We all long to feel important to someone, and to feel like our existence has a specific purpose that only we can fulfill. We all quietly wish to be touched by power, something bigger than ourselves, something too huge and complicated to explain but real nonetheless. And THAT is my God.
Jehovah Rapha...the Lord who heals us. El Roi...the God who see us--REALLY sees us. Jehovah Jireh...the Lord who provides for us. Jehovah Sabaoth...the Lord of heavenly armies who battle evil on our behalf. The list is much longer, but this is who GOD says He is. Man didn't define Him this way. This is how He defines Himself. This is not a compassionless God who demands we jump through His hoops. This is the God who saw our helplessness in the face of our adversary, the devil, and jumped through the hoops for us. And now He calls us to His heart so that He may share His kingdom with us.
God is love. All He does is motivated by love. If we miss that, we miss HIM.
I wanted to love Him and I knew He'd be mad if I didn't, but I didn't know how. After all, He torments those He cares about for their own good. The more you dare to seek Him, the worse He'll make it for you, but you can be assured it's for your own good. The Brussel Sprout God didn't offer passion. He didn't even offer some melted Velveeta to wash Him down. How do you love a God like that?
Well, you don't. Not with your whole heart. You will always withhold some tender part of your heart because you know it isn't safe with a Brussel Sprout God.
The Brussel Sprout God was a lie from the pit of hell. A perversion of truth that made the God who longs for us to approach Him, unapproachable.
God is intimately and infinitely interested in the smallest details of our lives. He passionately pursues our hearts. God is not a ego-centric narcissist, only interested in self-promotion. Which is funny, because He could rightfully be that way. But for some reason known only to Him, He created a race of beings that He KNEW would betray Him, and He decided to partner with them from the time of their creation through the rest of eternity. The tricky part is drawing us, because we are stubborn and inherently rebellious and fearful. His bait? Love. Passion. Compassion. Power. Peace. And more love. Our lives matter to Him. As individuals, we matter. He cares. He factors it all in when we're in relationship with Him. Yes, He will discipline us. Yes, we might have to eat a few brussel sprouts. But I've learned that He works in our hearts so that we are willing to accept brussel sprouts out of our desire to know and follow Him more and more.
I know alcoholics. I know girls who will do anything for the attention of a male. I know porn addicts. I know drug users. I know gossipy attention-mongers. I know churched people who are dying of boredom. I know people who escape into fantasy worlds. I know people trapped in cycles of fear and resentment. I know people who are tormented by their own failings. I know people whose hearts writhe in pain because those who should have protected them didn't. I've been many of these people. We all want to be touched by something deeper than our skin. We all long to be known and cherished. We all long to feel important to someone, and to feel like our existence has a specific purpose that only we can fulfill. We all quietly wish to be touched by power, something bigger than ourselves, something too huge and complicated to explain but real nonetheless. And THAT is my God.
Jehovah Rapha...the Lord who heals us. El Roi...the God who see us--REALLY sees us. Jehovah Jireh...the Lord who provides for us. Jehovah Sabaoth...the Lord of heavenly armies who battle evil on our behalf. The list is much longer, but this is who GOD says He is. Man didn't define Him this way. This is how He defines Himself. This is not a compassionless God who demands we jump through His hoops. This is the God who saw our helplessness in the face of our adversary, the devil, and jumped through the hoops for us. And now He calls us to His heart so that He may share His kingdom with us.
God is love. All He does is motivated by love. If we miss that, we miss HIM.