The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Luke 9:23-25,
"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?"
To say that drawing close to the Lord can be unsettling is quite the understatement. Many of us who love the Lord and desire to please him speak of coming near to him, to know him as best we can, to gain some measure of intimacy with him. We desire to experience his presence in our lives and to be impacted by him. James 4:8 tells us, "Come near to God and he will come near to you." We read in Colossians 3:2-3, "Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." And, Hebrews 12:1-3 says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."
I don't know about you, but there are some things in my life that don't fit neatly into a pursuit of the Lord. Earlier in Luke's gospel Jesus asked a simple, but important and sobering question, "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?" Luke 6:46. I'd like to think the Lord had his attention on someone else as he asked the question, but I have this nagging feeling he is looking right at me. Then, as I think of the above passage about denying myself, taking up my cross daily and following him... well, at what point can you feel you are meeting this expectation?
On the other hand, here is someone who loved me enough to come and die for me! Taking my punishment upon himself to provide a way into his family is an expression of love that simply cannot be ignored. As I consider all the Lord has done for me and how little I deserve what he provides me is too compelling to look any other way!
Perhaps one reason so many struggle in drawing near to the Lord is that he bristles with reality. He doesn't sugar-coat my faults and doesn't excuse them the way I do. He points to them and forgives me of them. He loves me despite them. Love and righteousness, mercy and justice. I find the Lord to be breathtaking in his love and kindness and yet fearsome in his honesty and expectations.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
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