I accepted Christ into my heart when I was twenty six years old. The feeling was overwhelming. Jesus loves me. He stands at the door and knocks. (Rev 3:20). I just had to let Him into my heart.
So I did. Belly down on the carpet of our living room I breathed in deeply. I pointed to the garage door. It was the door we used as “the front door”. Our friends used this door too. We hardly ever used the real front door. If Jesus knew me and loved me like the scriptures stated – He was knocking at that door.
In the quiet dark hours of the night while my newborn snoozed I pointed at that door. “Jesus, I love you and want you to come in through that door and live in my heart. I want to have a relationship with you”.
I read the word daily. I couldn’t read it enough. I had never read a verse in my life before. I prayed hard, earnestly trusting the Creator of the Universe was listening. I loved so easily and I knew He loved me.
The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren had just released the year before. (that book sparked my heart to seek answers). If you can believe this – Facebook hadn’t even started yet. Twitter was still 3 years in the making. I knew of no super spiritual bloggers nor did I even know what a blog was about. If you wanted to see pictures of people – they actually had to send them in the mail to our house!
In the last ten years our world has become instant. Spiritual uplifting has become easily available for anyone with an electronic device. This is the means by which we are easily encouraged, connected, “caught up” with one another, and yet too easily discouraged as well.
John 10:10, “”The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” I believe, our attachment to this instant world can be the enemy’s easiest tool to swing to infect our days with discouragement.
We are more aware of what everyone else is doing at every moment of the day. If we want to know or not. There are more faux relationships out there eagerly awaiting for your time and agreeable comments. And how easily they crumble over a status update too!
So fast so fast no time to run words through filters and hope for the best in new relationships. We see the sharing of status updates before that one not-so-little-but-highly-private thing spreads around.
Sharing an update or retweeting a verse is great! I know God can and will use that to bless another. But in a world when we can instantly move on to the next thing a little too quickly … are we seeking Him as much as before? Are we still hungry to find Him?
You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13
There is One relationship that is jealous of your time. It’s not your high school reunion friends or your cousin in-law with the great hair and perfect smiling kiddos. It’s not your relationship with that famous Christian celebrity you’re stalking {did they notice that funny comment yet?} It’s definitely not the disapproving homeschool co-op ladies.
As the holidays approach I am trying to focus on the One relationship that has greater rewards. I’m praying for a hunger to know Him. Not the drive by verse someone snapped a photo of and posted. But Him – the One who was standing outside my garage door waiting for me.
May I leave you with the chorus of a song I’m singing lately? Amazingly, this was written in 1922. Long before Facebook!
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace
