Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Journal 3/21/07 - Part 2

It has been said that man would climb the highest heights and walk the lowest depths for the sake of love. And as people romanticize about love they tend to believe that they would endure any hardship for the sake of love. But will man really journey through the darkest of times for love’s sake? Will a man press on day after day as he searches for his lost love with an unrelenting passion? Will the winds of life encourage the man to press on and to continue moving forward in the face of adversity? Or will the stress of this lost love consume the man to the point of utter exhaustion causing him to wither up and die like a leaf without water? Will he press on, endure and with all that is inside of him search frantically for that love that he so desperately needs? Or will he die a bitter lonely death as he rots from the inside out?

Will a man swim the seas searching for that which is merely intangible or will he search frantically for something that is so hard to obtain and keep in his possession? Love! What will mankind do for love?

We tend to believe in the idea that man is willing to do whatever it takes to be in the presence of the one they love. We believe that we as a fallen people are capable of loving in such a way that it drives us. Are we driven? Will we journey through seven hells just to be with the one we love?

How I long to be a man who is driven with a passion that consumes me from the inside out. How I long to pursue the one who loves me yet when I realize and see what my heart is capable of, I tend to think that there is not enough drive or passion in any man to faithfully seek the one whom they love. At best, we may move in that direction but no man is capable of loving in this way. It is not something that we can do in our fallen state.

Yet there is One who can and who has done this very thing. The Lover of my soul has endured! He has gone to the greatest depths and the harshest of storms for the sake of the love that consumed Him. His passion for me, took him on a journey that was filled with pain, grief, sorrow, despair, and hope.

For the hope set before Him he endured all things so that at last he could be with me. And I am absolutely blown away that I am the object of passion that would cause another to pursue me through all the storms. I am in awe that I would be the passion of someone who would leave the very gates of paradise to be with me. Why? I am not worthy of this sort of passion. Why would you lay your eyes upon me and pursue me?

When I look at the journey that was taken to reach me; I am moved in the very depths of my soul. You sought me! You pursued me! You love me! You love to be with me! You love to pour your heart out to me! You are consumed with thoughts of me!

I am utterly speechless and am overtaken with astonishment! And it is not that I am the greater person here. You are the King of kings and the Lord of lords. You are the Creator of all things and I am a mere peon in light of who you are. And though it should have been the other way around where I pursue you and journey in passion to find you, it was not that way. You sought me. You endured for me. You laid your eyes upon me and never lost focus, you never lost heart; you never gave up.

So I stand here now, completely undone in the presence of the King of kings. I am not worthy Jesus. I am not worthy to be loved in the manner in which you love me. I am not worthy!!!! You are worthy! You deserve my passion and love and yet its flipped around. You offer me salvation; you freely offer me freedom from my bonds and I accept. I want to be free. Your love towards me compels me to seek your face. I am Your beloved and you love me as I am…..Whoa!

Thank you for loving me. Thank you for searching me out and thank you for finding me and freeing me. There is no other place that I would rather be than with you. And yet I hear the words so clearly from your lips that there is no other place that you would rather be than with me. I don’t know what to say to that! My mouth simply drops in totally amazement and gratefulness. Thank you my Lord for leaving glory and your throne and your heavenly place and seeking me out until you found me, healed me, cleaned me and I look forward to you bringing me with you back into your heavenly kingdom.

I love you Jesus but more importantly, you love me!

Bill