If you are like me then you long for meaningful and authentic relationships, You yearn to be seen, heard, and affirmed. You yearn for the love and safety of committed relationships. Accomplishments are great, yet, we will give up all our accolades for love.
From the very beginning, it was God’s intention that He would share in and enjoy an authentic and intimate relationship with His creation. No wonder the garden of Eden was paradise. Adam and Eve were naked and unashamed, open and accessible, with no barriers between each other or God. They enjoyed pure intimacy and unconditional acceptance and belonging.
In the New Testament, the narrative of Jesus reflects God’s desire for intimacy to be restored with His people. Jesus is the good shepherd, diligently gathering together His lost sheep. John 10:14–16 records Jesus’ words: “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.”
The longing for this garden experience is hard-wired into us. We experience it now as discontent when we are not living a big life, loving others, and fulfilling Jesus’ promise: “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father” (John 14:12 NASB95). Jesus’ mission was to introduce the work of reconciling relationships so that with His assistance we would carry it on to completion—that we would be one flock again. And, we would experience a divine discontent if we were out of a relationship with God and with each other.
When Christians do not experience this divine discontent, it signals that they have lost their edge. Their relationship with God has become too comfortable, which in spiritual terms means stale and dead. They live by rote and habit, with no impetus to trust God and live by faith. Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith, it is impossible to please God.” To experience a life of faith is to have a dynamic relationship with God and with others—a relationship that is powerful, alive, and stretches you to become more of who you were meant to be.
Surprised by God is a story of incarnational transformation–second order change from one life to the next. It is the story of one life impacting another and another. Anointed exponential growth! It tells how one person being genuine, telling truth, and seeking to live like Christ can make an eternal difference. Join us in this journey of being continually surprised by the joy of God available to all those who hunger and thirst for more of Him. The secret of getting more of Him is giving what you have away.
For more posts from Rich Blue please check out his personal blog at outoftheblueblog.us