The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. (vs. 44-46)
I can’t tell you when it happened, exactly. It was a slow, long, deep yearning that came from within, an undeniable Love that made its way known to me. It was the kind of love that consumed everything.
I had heard of Him from books, His renown from the lips of others, but I had not known Him, down to my very Heart of hearts. People told me that what I had was it, where I had been was sufficient. But I was lost. I hungered, my soul was tormented, for I knew there was something more to Him than what everyone said. I had come to the end of Myself. My song had left. My Hallelujah was so very tired. I thought I had reached the end of the road and I had missed something. I had nothing left to give Him, no gift that I could offer. But I yearned for something. I knew not what, but I knew it was to be found in Him.
And He saw my hunger and came to me and made His home with me.
So I can’t tell you what happened, exactly, or when, or where. But I am irrevocably, inexplicably, totally in love with a Crucified Savior. I am obsessed with the thought of the next time I shall meet with Him, I cannot do anything without thinking of what He is doing or what He is thinking or saying. He calls me out, away from a conventional life. When I am with Him, all other things start to fade. All other loves, all other things I could run after, they do not satisfy me as His love does. Only His love can reach the innermost places of my heart and overflow because I cannot contain it, and still leave me wanting more and more. I see now that He is beginning where I ended.
I can no longer be the same. He has changed everything I am, and I welcome it with outstretched arms. There can be nothing else for me. This is the treasure a man would leave everything to own. Riches beyond compare, wisdom, strength and love so high and wide and deep that it penetrates the deepest parts of me, yet still leaves me wanting more. All along, I knew He was the One for me.
I can't tell you the exact moment it happened, but there is now nothing else for me in the world.
Nothing that I could desire or obtain.
Nothing that I could own or accomplish. Nothing that I could be or learn that will ever compare to the simple joy of being with Him. To rest in His glory and offer up my heart in praise to the King of Glory
What is the highest goal of a life with Christ? Is it to win over souls for the Kingdom? Perhaps, but something about that doesn’t sit right with me. Is it to heal the nations or perform acts of power or see the lame walk? Maybe, but that seems a little showy and slightly superficial. Is it to have comfortable lives where everything is in order and people are wowed by our pleasant demeanor? If the Bible or my natural state of frustration is any indication, that’s clearly not the case.
I think that the highest aim of our lives is simply to be near to God, knowing Him, maybe even to be ONE with Him.
Just some thoughts to ponder over..
Draw near to Him today.
Beth
"If we would stop proclaiming a God of information and knowledge and started experiencing His love, we would discover that there is nothing greater than knowing Christ."
-Alyssa Cagle
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