Picture Jesus Christ, the Risen Lord in His glory, standing in His boat. He points to you, (each one of us), and says, come follow Me. When we get into this boat, we are alone with the King….. and we cannot turn back. Or maybe the true version, is that we wouldn’t dare mention to Him that we can’t go or we want to turn around….. There is something in His eyes that says that is not a place you want to go with Him…… So we go…..alone with Him to new horizons.
It is impossible to go anywhere else but join Him. There is no family, friends, church and business acquaintances that comes along here, just you. He has you completely to Himself…He looks out on the world that He creates. You start wondering what is He thinking? What is His plan? He sets His face so stern towards His purpose. Since we are along, it is now our purpose….. We search Him for a clue because the ocean is so vast, we have no idea where and why we are going…..
However,the ride is beautiful, almost surreal, it is so peaceful. You hear the waves lapping against the boat gently as you move out and away from all you have known. The sun is shining down upon you, yet the rays are quite comforting, there is no heat…. All astounding things are surrounding you, including the strong and yet gentleness of His presence with you.
Then all of a sudden, He turns to you with His eyes that go right through you gaze….You melt and swallow hard, wondering…. what He sees because you do not know what is okay or not…. Is it pleasing or not…..
Finally, the penetrating gaze of the Son of God, causes you to blurt out…. What? Uh, what Sir? You start to feel the sweat bead up on your forehead as the rest of you feels quite clammy……. Eternity has just passed before you because He does not change His gaze off of you……Now you start wondering if you heard Him right, did He really call me to join Him…. Maybe He meant the guy next to me and I was presumptuous….. He still is looking at you….You take a big deep breath and wait.
You wait in front of the Lord, but your mind doesn’t. You notice the boat is going against the wind, but in the prior direction of the Lord’s gaze…. however, there is no motor or oars….. Why is His gaze still towards me…. Is my hair weird? You start to put your hands over your hair, and check your clothing. All seems to be okay and in order at least for me…. Why did He ask me to come follow Him…Why me?
You start thinking that this was a mistake, but you can’t turn back.
Through the waiting, you start to notice, your body does not feel anything. It is there but not speaking as much. Instead you hear His words talking to you with out the use of your ears!
The Lord tells you that He knew you before you were even born. He planned your beginning and your end into the new. He has had His eye watching and waiting all eternity for this time to be alone with you….. All you can think of is why me? He gets you off guard because He answers your question…His gaze never leaves you as He answers because I have loved you with an everlasting love, child.
You swallow hard and tears spring out of your eyes. You start seeing His gaze is of love…. A love that you have never witnessed before. This love is so penetrating. His impact is consuming all of you. You notice that this love is all you notice now. The ocean has disappeared from your view, all you see is the Lord.
His love is changing you right there. You don’t know how to put words to what is going on, but His work is going on, right through you. His presence is overwhelming that you have lost total awareness of time. He has got your total attention. His love has killed all of your cares and worries and you just want to sit with this sweet and yet powerful presence of the Lord…. You want to stay in His love.
The next thing you know…. you are back at your home…. You look around. Tears start to spring out of your eyes. You think to yourself, I wasn’t finished with Him…. I thought He called me out with Him. I don’t want that to end with Him AT ALL!
Then you hear, child, it is not ended but just the beginning! Don’t fret, I am still with you and so is the gaze of My love ever watching your thoughts and moves. Think and meditate on My words for they are Spirit and Life to you. Live in them and I live in you. I am here closer than your breath, child. Do not worry, child, we shall have many words to share. When you are with Me, you have entered into eternity with the Eternal One. Be blessed and walk on in the knowledge of My love for you.
So you think…. He is here too? He didn’t leave me? He didn’t change His mind, did He? Well, no because He told me there would be future conversations with Him. Wow, with the King of glory, wants to meet with me. He wants to sit with me…. me… Tears again spring out of your eyes because the impact of the One who died and has risen, wants to spend His presence on me.
Welcome back, beloved of the Lord….. Do you want to be back? I didn’t think so, me either. We will in future blogs go away to His boat.
Alone, each one met Jesus Christ on His cross. Each one of us like Mary and Peter, and the rest, are also to meet Jesus Christ, the Risen Lord…..It is a different picture than the one we always see as Jesus on the earth, with the children or carrying a lamb….. The Risen Lord, Jesus Christ, well, He is not to mess with. Why in verse 11 of chapter 4 of the Book of Revelation, did all the ones before the throne of Him, cast down their thrones to say….?
You are worthy,O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.
We see everyone bowing before the throne because of He who is on the throne. The awesomeness of God is presented in chapter 4. This is the God we pray to, we cry to, we worship and adore. The same One that wants you to come and sit with Him as He takes you to distance places that are wide, deep, long and high.
Now some of the trek is not easy or delightful, but the knowledge of His neverending love will carry and sustain us through to the end…. The end of time, as we enter into what was and is and will forever be, eternity with the assembly bowing down before the throne of the King. The King that is so beautiful in holiness that it is hard for us to behold such beauty or even comprehend His greatness now….
However, if we continue to meet with Him just as we are in chapter 4 bowing, praising and listening for the One on the throne, there will be little change, when we shed our mortality. In the Spirit, I believe we all worship the Lord as one body, the body of the Christ. So we are already in the Spirit…..there and here…..
There is little difference in chapter 4 in worshipping the Lord and being on His boat with Him……Both places He is in first place in our lives and hearts. We can not get so busy that we forget that greatest priority is being with the Lord in every minute of our day in acknowledging who He is, ( even through our ‘ work’). If we remember that we are all a part of what is continually going on around the throne of God every second of our lives, we will always be attuned to the Spirit’s leading. We will have ears to hear and eyes to see what the Spirit is speaking to us today.
Keep the instruction of the Lord. Live in His love. Let the knowledge of His love for us take root and to grow great in us, until next time…..
Selah on our Great King Jesus Christ and His neverending love for you!! Choose to live there, beloved of the Lord!
