More than just Salvation!

Confession: I know this sounds ungrateful and maybe even irreverent, but I despise wind. It evokes fear and anger in me, and not just because it messes up my hair and makes the side gate of my house squeak and bang like that creepy scene in “The Lost Boys” before the vampires show up. No, I passionately dislike wind because it's unpredictable. Wind reminds me how little control I actually have and how vulnerable I am. An ant, really, that God could gently breathe on and blow off the face of the earth with no effort at all. 

A couple of weeks ago, parts of Colorado experienced an unprecedented wind storm that blew shingles off of roofs, took off pieces of fences and sent heavy objects flying through the air, projectile-style. It carried on for many hours, a couple of days, actually. I received text after text warning of power outages in the area and before long, our power cut off. It’s a funny thing, sitting in your living room, your sons all in their rooms (man caves) doing their own thing until the lights and power go out. I counted backwards in my head, “And… 3, 2, 1…..” then it happened. I heard a door open. Then another door. Then footsteps coming up the basement stairs. 

Since it was dark outside by this time, we lit candles (note to self- go scentless next time- the battling fragrances were nauseating). With low phone batteries and no electricity, we brainstormed about what we could do. 

One of my sons had the idea of playing Monopoly. Normally I would groan and protest, as I prefer games that  last less than 3 days, but you know that saying about desperate times calling for desperate measures, so it was game on.  We had a blast trying to rip each other off, which was easy, since we couldn’t easily discern the color of properties or the money. It was sort of like Monopoly meets poker. Lots of short-changing antics went on as we played by candlelight.

At one point, I landed myself in jail (dang “Chance” card). Doubles are typically not my thing and I didn’t have a “Get out of jail free” card, so I waited through 3 lost turns before being able to resume play. 

Today I was thinking  about last Sunday’s sermon. Two things occurred to me as I listened to the Pastor talk about true intimacy with God. 

First, most teenage boys and young men don’t relish the idea of hanging with their mom on a Saturday night. Not that they don’t love me, I’m just not their top priority. Makes sense, as developmentally, friends take priority at this stage. It’s completely normal, from what I hear. 

Here’s the other thing, though: Sometimes I treat Jesus like a “Get out of hell free” card. I sit there, paralyzed, not moving forward until I reach for Jesus in an attempt to get me out of my personal prison. How sad! What a waste of the abundant life He promises us! Truth is, if we have accepted Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross as payment for our sins, we are not only prisoners set free, we are children of God! We have a heavenly inheritance and are co-heirs with Christ! Not only that, but right after Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene (John 21:11-17, Matthew 28:10), he referred to the disciples as “ brothers”! Have you ever thought of Jesus not only as your Savior and Lord but as your brother? 

Just as Jesus is powerful, having defeated sin and death, He is also meek and approachable. He’s relatable. Having suffered rejection, abuse, false accusations, character assaults, mockery, temptation, unrivaled physical pain and worst of all, temporary separation from His Father in heaven while hanging on the cross, He is more than capable of the greatest level of intimacy. Going through pain? He’s been there. Feeling defeated? He knows. Feeling hopeless about the state of the world? Jesus wept for Israel, who didn’t even recognize her messiah, standing right before them. He knows it all. And He wants the deepest level of intimacy with you. 

If you can relate to pushing Jesus aside, making Him your last resort instead of your first love, will you pray this with me out loud?

Jesus, I desire a deeper relationship with you. I know that I sometimes make you my lowest priority or my last resort when all my own plans have failed. I’m sorry. You are so Holy, so mighty and so worthy of my praise. Please help me to give you the position you deserve in my life; the highest position as my King! Thank you that you’re not only my King but my brother. You desire to be so close to me. Please remind me of your pure and perfect, selfless love when I go to push you away. You are like no other; trustworthy and true. You promised to never leave nor forsake me. Help me to believe that. I pray, Lord, that I wouldn’t be steered  by my temporary circumstances but that you would show me how to keep my eyes fixed on you and that I’d be able to weather any storm that comes my way, realizing that you are holding me safe in your arms. Finally, God, I pray that you would give me an eternal perspective so I wouldn’t get caught up on petty distractions and things that don’t matter much on this side of heaven. Help me to love and encourage others (especially those who are difficult to love). Show me how to love like you love, Jesus. Root out any pride and bitterness that holds me back from being who you created me to be. Thank you, God, for being so much more than I can even comprehend. You are awesome. In Jesus’ name, amen. 

Repentance is such an important part of being intimate with God. Our pride is a huge obstacle when it comes to drawing near to God and when we repent, we come before Him with a clean slate. Jesus paid it all on the cross, so our salvation is secure regardless, but to have true intimacy with God, we have to lay down what gets in the way. 

My boys love gaming with friends. And while technology has its perks,nothing compares to time spent face to face (even in the dark), laughing, engaging and connecting with each other. I will never forget that night  with my boys, listening to them go back and forth, smack-talking and laughing. There was a level of closeness that night that we haven’t experienced in a long time as a family. Sad that it took a power outage to get us there, but I’m so grateful for the opportunity. Turns out that wind is not always such a bad thing after all.