It's the beautiful culmination of a long and arduous story, but a love story nonetheless. I come to this ending knowing more than ever that God loves me, that He is in control of every detail of my life, that I'm a part of the Good and Grand Story that He is revealing to the world. How can I not love it?
Never again will anything be cursed. (22:3)
Never again will there be any night. No one will need lamplight or sunlight. The shining of God, the Master, is all the light anyone needs. (22:5)
Is anyone thirsty? Come! All who will, come and drink. Drink freely of the Water of Life! (22:17)
This journey's been harrowing and deeply disturbing at times, and hopeful and reassuring at other times. Over the past two years, God has taken me on a wild ride as I've gotten caught up in His epic story - the dysfunctional relationships, the drama, and the betrayal along with the beauty and purpose as He's revealed Himself through it - and as He's taught me to look to His Story as the lens through which I view life.
God's Word has fundamentally changed me. I am a different person than I was two years ago, and my perspective has been radically altered. As I've reflected on what God's done in me through this experience, Larry Crabb's words have resonated with me, particularly related to the power of God's story:
"The more deeply you understand and enter the story told in the Bible, the more you hear a story of love unmatched in all of history, in all literature and film...
"The key to living the good life that is available now is to join God's story, to see life as He sees it and learn to live it as He wants it lived.
"But first we must know it. We need to hear the Master Storyteller tell His story. And that means reading the Bible and listening as the storyline unfolds and develops...
"It is a story that will take you further down than you've ever wanted to go and lift you higher than you've ever imagined you could travel. It is a story that provides the power not to give you everything you want in this world but to transform the little story of your life in this world into part of a meaningful and wonderfully, larger story that is the only one worth telling now while you wait for the satisfaction of every desire in the next world when you meet the Storyteller." 66 LL
God has gone to great lengths to faithfully preserve His Word for us for more than two milennia. Isn't it obvious that He wants us to know Him?! So I guess it's no surprise then that Jesus' last words remind us to know His Word and to be vigilant.
The Angel said to me, "These are dependable and accurate words, every one...And tell them, 'Yes, I'm on my way! Blessed be the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book." (22:6-7)
The Angel continued, "Don't seal the words of the prophecy of this book; don't put it away on the shelf...let the righteous maintain a straight course and the holy continue on in holiness. (22:10-11)
I give fair warning to all who hear the words of the prophecy of this book: If you add to the words of this prophecy, God will add to your life the disasters written in this book; if you subtract from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will subtract your part from the Tree of Life and the Holy City that are written in this book. (22:18-19)
My prayer is that this adventure together has drawn you deeper into God's story and that He has gripped your heart with His Love and with His Word. I pray that both of us will continue to "eat this book"!
"[God speaking:] Keep looking. Keep seeing. Keep listening. I'll see you soon!" 66 LL
"Yes, I'm on my way!... I'll be there soon!"Yes! Come, Master Jesus!The grace of the Master Jesus be with all of you. Oh, yes!(22:12, 20-21)
**************************************************************
This is our last post on Always in Blossom. Thank you for being a part of this journey through the Bible with us. It has been a joy and a privilege for me, and I'm so thankful that God called Staci and me to this ministry for the past two years. As always, we'd love to hear what God has been doing in you as He's pursued you through His Word. (Please see Staci's post Coming to An End for more information on a Bible-reading blog for 2013.)
2 comments:
hank you both so much for this journey! I have loved staying in the word with you two, whom I love and respect so much. I'll be sad to see it end, but I plan on joining Bev's blog for 2013. Xoxo!!
What an uplifting post! Check out http://spiritmindsoul.blogspot.com/2013/08/college-essentials-lessons-learned.html
Post a Comment