I didn't have to look far or think too long to have a myriad of answers. My life is rife of things with which God must daily battle for my attention and affection. What an image that brings to mind! The creator of the universe, filled with such desire to have a mere moment of time that He constantly calls after one who consistently ignores Him. How fortunate we are that one such as He loves us so dearly. If only I would listen and heed His call.
Instead, I have put the business of the day, the worldly desires of my heart, and the pride of my eyes ahead of the better portion that patiently waits to be recognized and accepted. Instead of bearing the burden of the Cross, I have chosen the weight of the world. Instead of accepting the love and forgiveness of Christ, I have chosen the false promises and accusations of humanity. Instead of accepting the vision of God and His purpose of my life, I've chased after delusions of grandeur that so frequently pass in and out of my vision like wisps of smoke. How long will I chose to run away from the waiting arms that long to embrace me and the loving hands that formed me in my mother's womb? How can I see the glory of God through the dense fog of my flesh and this world?
The answer is Jesus Christ.
Jesus is God's love made manifest. As such, I see Jesus as God's love perfected. As I was meditating on this, 1 Corinthians chapter 13 came to my conscious. I quickly found the passage and read it. I reread the passage except this time I substituted the name of Jesus in the passage wherever love was previously written. The following was the result:
"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not Jesus, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not Jesus, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not Jesus, I gain nothing.
4Jesus is patient, Jesus is kind. He does not envy, He does not boast, He is not proud. 5He is not rude, He is not self-seeking, He is not easily angered, He keeps no record of wrongs. 6He does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 He always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8Jesus never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13And now these three remain: faith, hope and Jesus. But the greatest of these is Jesus."
What an incredible gift! The answer is now clear. God seeks a relationship with us. This relationship is impossible without Jesus. Jesus is the way. Jesus is the truth. Jesus is the life. In order to have a relationship with God, we must have Jesus. Thanks be to God and His infinite grace that Jesus will have us.
