As the Deer, Part IV

But God still loves you. If you doubt it, take a look outside your window and consider this glorious planet He has given you. Better yet, spend some time to take a walk through nature on a sunny day and listen to the sounds of the woods, or ride your bike through the rain and feel the replenishing power of water, or spend a day or two in the wild places of this earth and wonder at the power and majesty stored there as a reflection of the Creator. Or spend an evening with family or good friends and see in the eyes of your brothers and sisters that spark of life, that common thread of what can only be called a soul that runs between and through us all and connects us back with God. Observe the ways of a couple in love, how they adore and support one another, and watch as they are married and then bring a new child into this world, how they love that child and how the child takes comfort in them, and as you observe these stages in life, consider: are these emotions and feelings and actions not intended to be a reflection of our relationship with God? Or, if you still doubt His love, look at Jesus.

Think back to the lifeboat question, and picture Jesus there in the boat with them, squeezed in between the lawyer and the garbage man. As their situation becomes desperate, I can imagine what He would say. “Guys, hold on a minute! Why are we even arguing about this? Don’t you know that all of you are equal before God? I know you have been led astray and deceived, but listen to the truth of My Father. He loves every one of you, and wants each of you to experience life to its fullest, which is only possible if He’s part of it. None of your jobs make you more important than the other; they all contribute to everyone else, and you can always use them to learn about God and share with others His wonderful news. Mr. Lawyer, do justice and stand up for the innocent and the weak. Mrs. Doctor, my Father’s hands will always guide your hands, if you let Him. Child, I am so sorry for what you suffer through; you were never meant to be this way, let me heal you. Mrs. Stay-at-Home Mom, I imagine you’ve learned the meaning of patience by now; now you can understand God’s patience and love a little more. And Mr. Garbage Man, you and I both know the toils of a hard day’s work; trust Me, I will never place a burden on you that is too heavy to carry. Now as to throwing someone overboard, if it must be done, I will go willingly. Though you have no reason to think of me as less valuable to your goal of staying afloat, I do this to make plain the value inside each of you. You see, it is only through my sacrifice that you will stay afloat, which gives each of you a chance at living the life that is waiting for you beyond the confines of this boat.” And as He speaks these last words, He slips over the side of the boat and disappears into the depths below.

I no longer have an apprehension about Heaven, because I have not made reaching it the goal of my existence here on earth. When reaching Heaven is the goal, I fear we too often reduce our religion to a list of bullet points, or a set of formulas to be applied at certain times, or treat the Bible as a self-help book we can read with our morning coffee. Those bullet points may be true, and the there may be a solid basis behind the formulas, but if we focus on these more than our relationship with the Author of truth, we’ve missed the point. Matthew records Jesus warning us against this thinking in chapter 7, verses 22-23:

“On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”

We can do all sorts of things in the name of Christ, but if we do not have a relationship through him with the Father, we’ve missed the point. But many of us struggle with the idea of a relationship with someone we’ve never directly talked to, let alone a deity. How do we connect with him, what do we have in common? I was reading another book recently, in which the author stated that some of the most powerful and comforting words in the world are when someone says “Me too.” When we learn that someone else around us has suffered through the same trials or heartbreaks we have, an instant connection springs up. We can relate to that person, because they know what its like. And sometimes we struggle with what Jesus dying on the cross meant, and how it reconciles us to God, but this author gave what I thought to be a profound explanation. He said that Jesus, a sinless man hanging there on a cross with His arms outstretched, suffering and dying because humanity refused to listen, was God speaking to each one of us, and saying “Me too.”

When I say that I have no more apprehension about Heaven, it is because I no longer view it as an eternal golden harp offered to me as long as I get everything right in this life. As Paul says in his letter to the Ephesians: 

“…that is not the way you learned Christ! – assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”

Now I see Heaven as an eternal communion with the One, and only One, who is able to fill my soul with contentment, because He created me, and I am finally learning to be who I was created to be. The only true joy and fulfillment to be had comes only from the One who knows you best, because he created you. The Father desires to be one with you through Jesus, but He will never force you, for a forced love is no love at all, and we all know that a relationship must be built on love. Our Father is waiting, and Jesus is there with arms outstretched even now waiting to take you there, but only if you are willing.

“As the deer pants for the water

So my soul longs after you.

You alone are my heart’s desire,

And I long to worship you.

I want you more than gold or silver,

Only You can satisfy.

You alone are the real joy giver

And the apple of my eye.

You’re my friend and You’re my brother

Even though you are a King.

I love You more than any other

So much more than anything.

You alone are my strength, my shield;

To You alone may my spirit yield.

You alone are my heart’s desire,

And I long to worship You.”

-Martin Nystrom, 1984

THE END