Dreams quenched, hope quenched, joy quenched, building of each other ceases. Just imagine, spreading your tarp, on a street corner, living day by day. The only phrases uttered, “hungry”, “money”, “help:” While this is the image in Africa, this image is also you and I without the generous gift, our Father, through His son gave us. Imagine if we had to beg, like really beg, not only for our daily bread, but if we had to beg and plea for an ounce of mercy from our Lord King; begging daily for the crumbs of His table. Imagine if His mercy wasn’t new every morning. Imagine if upon begging enough, our only hope was to maybe return to the Father’s house to live just as a servant as in shown in the prodigal son’s story. What if we woke up groaning in our rags, begging for just a taste of His presence? What if the scripture said “beg, beg harder –give me your most pathetic look and the door might be opened; weep and wail for my attention, and then it might be given.”
But, amazingly, that’s not what the scripture says. Instead, God seeks to dress us in the most fabulous of evening wear, the wedding gown. That is how our Heavenly Father pictures us – as His bride, worthy of love and worthy of a great inheritance. He knows us well – well enough to know we’d be the wimpiest army, the least victorious, the most downcast troop to display His Glory and Triumph for the cross without His equipping of us with His steadfast love, His enduring faithfulness. He pleas with us to cast our cares upon Him and promises that nothing can separate us from our Father’s love. Without His open arms – we would not have seat at the banquet table. But, he does offer and we do sit as heirs to the throne. So no begging in the Kingdom!! He generously equips us to follow Him, delight in Him, learn of Him, rejoice with Him, cry with Him, rest in Him, mourn with Him, laugh with Him, and be victorious through Him!! Thankfully, in Christ there are no Beggars. We are all welcome to take a place at His table. Amen.
- Thanks Liz for such inspiring thoughts!
No comments:
Post a Comment