Last weekend I
saw my wife off to the Airport. She was going to see family and she’s going to
be gone for a while so I’d been tearing up all day, in fact all week. But I
never let the emotion show, I reasoned that she would not be gone for so long
and the days would just pass by swiftly, so there was no need to worry.
Whenever we talked about how much we would miss each other, I tried to keep a
stoic demeanor and just be frank about it all
But as it
remained two hours for her to leave, I began to feel the heavy weight of deep
loss, I really didn’t want her to go, and I would miss her presence too much.
As she walked past the security gate and went out of sight; not to be seen for
the next couple of days, I felt a part of me leaving with her, and even though
we have means of communicating with each other; Skype, chatting and plain old
calling each other’s cell phone, nothing beats her being present with me here.
I still miss my wife a whole lot, I’m not used to coming home, watching movies
or even praying alone. Now more than ever, I cherish the presence of my spouse
sharing everyday life with me. I cannot imagine how old people feel when they
lose their spouse, no wonder they tend to sleep in the Lord quickly (especially
if they were very close)
As I was driving
back home from the Airport and contemplating these things, I suddenly felt a
nudge in my belly: “This sense of loss I feel does not originate with me, it is
a parable and it originates from God”, I could feel it originating from the
heart of Jesus himself, communicated to me through the Holy Spirit.
I will talk
about this in two layers; before the Cross and after the Cross
BEFORE THE CROSS
When Adam fell,
he died. He separated himself from God and in his utter confusion about God and
his character, he started hiding from God. This little act has degenerated over
millennia to mankind having all these myths about the Father; twisted and
convoluted ideas about the Nature and character of God that make us constantly
fear him, distrust him and run from him. In a way we were passing through the
Security gates and leaving the place of pleasure (Eden) and fellowship with him
forever. We could still communicate with him sometimes, Israel had the Temple
and he spoke through his Spirit to certain men. Many other nations had
inclinations of their origin in God, but Satan twisted these inclinations and
set himself and his demons up to be gods in those Nations. However, God still
communicated with Gentiles, just not as frequently and directly as he did with
the Jews.
But that was
never enough, what he wanted was to live in us and share everything with us. He
wants us to have a conscious knowledge of his presence in all that we go
through in life; good or bad. He wants to fully express himself in humanity,
and include us in the unbroken and unbreakable fellowship of the Trinity. This
is what Jesus came to give to us. This is the plan that began in Eden but was
not fully consummated.
He came to show
us a true picture of God:
“No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is
himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known”
John 1:18
He came to give
us Life (a living fellowship with the real God):
“Father the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son
may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might
give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life;
that they know you, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” John 17:2-3
Now I’ve had a
glimpse of how the Father must have felt for millennia without our fellowship
and of how the Son would have felt, waiting for millennia to become flesh and
claim his Bride. Not that God is incomplete without us or anything like that.
He can do without us; he is wholly whole and satisfied in the Trinity. He has
just chosen never to do without us. Like Karl Barth says, “God refuses to be
God without us”
So when he
became man, he became the last Adam; fully representing us in a way that is much
more powerful and effective than the first Adam. When he died, he put to death
that Adamic race that alienated himself from God with its idiosyncrasies and he
rose again to newness of life, a man completely innocent before God with
complete access to the throne room of God. Now all that is left is for us to
accept who we are and what has happened to us, and make use of it by engaging
in a real relationship with God. The moment we believe this, the Holy Spirit
makes his dwelling in our hearts and that connection is made.
“And you were also included in Christ when you heard the word
of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him
with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our
inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession to the
praise of his glory” Ephesians 1:13-14(emphasis mine)
Please do not
get me wrong, I understand the severity of Sin and Christ’s need to die and
take our punishment. But we must remember that is not where the story starts.
There was a plan before the fall, and the fall did not stop that plan, it only
meant that Jesus had to make certain stops in carrying out that Eternal plan
Wherever you
are, whatever you’re doing, just know that God longs to make his dwelling in
your heart. He’s not disgusted at you, unhappy with you or disappointed in you.
Sure, you might be doing things he does not like, but he’s not surprised and
he’s very aware of the fact that only in him can you find the strength to
change. He literally died to make it possible. If you have not accepted this
gift please do and if you have, the least you can do is enjoy his presence and
let him love you. In fact, I believe
that is all that is required of us.
Now, this post
is getting too long for my liking, so I’ll write about the next insight in my
next blog. Stay tuned.
