In ALL Things...

If you've ever experienced that moment where you have never felt so alone in your entire life, only to come to the realization a short time later that never once was that the truth, then maybe you have gained the beautiful understanding (in a way that is, perhaps, not so beautiful) that Christ is present in ALL things...

"You were all called to travel on the same road an in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly. You have one master, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of All, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all. Everything you are and think and do is permeated with Oneness."

-Ephesians 4:4-6

The theme of unity in this verse is so obvious. And so is the presence of Christ. He is Master of every single circumstance, situation, and thing; without exception. Nothing is left as an outlier. He is OVER, THROUGH, IN absolutely everything. Whether we experience the darkness or the brightness of joy, Christ is totally present in our lives. He orchestrates everything into a beautiful harmony for His glory. And whether it is the messiness or the sweet melody that sticks out to us more in that particular moment, it is all permeated with Christ. It serves the purpose of drawing us deeper and deeper into His heart, into His love. God's desire for us to unite with fellow believers is so real. We can't do it alone, and He knows that! He desires for us to experience the authentic community that comes when we open our hearts to others who know Him and pursue Him with a whole heart.

Though I have never seen the ugliness of my wayward heart as clearly as I did a week ago (a long story better left for another time...), I have also never experienced the depth of Grace Christ offers, nor have I felt the reality of undeserved, unconditional love present in the authentic relationships He has given to me. After a night of darkness came several nights of heart-wrenching, tear-jerking honesty all of which were followed by "me too" moments sweeter than any metaphor or words I can even come up with right now. As I shared the less appealing parts of my life with the people who matter the most to me, I experienced the sweetness and sincerity of encouragement Christ's way. And I am overwhelmed with thankfulness, that spills over into tears of joy; that He has given me friends and family to be His hands and feet as they hold my hand through the reality of life. Ugly or beautiful, we're traveling on the "same road in the same direction", and Christ, in His wonderful goodness, is simultaneously leading every step and bringing up the rear.

Praise God that He never wastes a moment of our lives, no matter how much it hurts! Praise Him for His grace that NEVER runs out! Praise Him that He is truly present IN ALL THINGS!

Praise Him that no matter what we do, we will not be separated from the reality of His love!

"I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how WIDE and LONG and HIGH and DEEP is the love of Christ, and to know that this love SURPASSES knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

-Ephesians 3:16-19

Delighting with you in the awesome grace and stunning love of Our Wonderful Savior,

Allison :)

A Fire Ablaze!

Fire is bold, hot, captivating.

Fire ignites curiosity and is attractively dangerous.

Fire is strangely irresistible, and its heat is illuminating.

In 2 Timothy chapter 1, Paul tells Timothy to keep the fire of his faith ABLAZE! What an amazingly descriptive word! It made me think about all the characteristics of a fire that is set ablaze, and what I came up with is listed at the beginning of this post. It's a short list...but when I replace "My faith" with "Fire", it becomes incredibly challenging!

The dictionary defines ABLAZE as "burning fiercely". Fiercely, another wonderful word, describes the bold and dangerous character of Jesus and the standard of faith that He desires us to have in Him. I want this faith. Only then will Jesus be able to transform me into one of those fires that once looked at, can't be looked away from: one that is irresistible, captivating, attractive and ablaze with the love of Christ!

Wondering about the Wonderful...

This morning I sat down with some coffee and opened my Bible to 1 Timothy 6. I knew that I had read this passage before, as I saw highlighted verses and a few notes in the margins... But the freshness of this fall morning reminded me that there is always something fresh and new I can find in the Word of God. It seems that no matter how many times we read the same sections of God's Word, He always has something new to teach. I like to think that it gives Him great joy to reveal something we have never understood and to watch us approach His love letter with a desire to dig deeper. I don't always enter my quiet times with an attitude this thirsty, but when I do, I always come away asking how I could ever settle for anything less! God's Word is just SO satisfying!

And that leads me to what struck me the most about what I read today. As a whole, the passage reminded me that as someone touched and changed by the incredible grace of Jesus, my life should be drastically different from the "norms" of the world. If my life makes total sense to someone who doesn't know Jesus, then something needs to change. It was a great reminder of what I should be pursuing with my whole heart...

More specifically, verses 11 and 12 grabbed my heart...

"Pursue a righteous life--a life of wonder, faith, love, steadiness, courtesy. Run hard and fast in the faith. Seize the eternal life, the life you were called to, the life you so fervently embraced..."

The fact that the life of someone who claims Christ should be marked by WONDER jumped out of the page. I was struck with the realization of something I have always known: my heart is prone to severe dissatisfaction! I am so easily distracted by everything I don't have, can't get, don't understand, can't do, shouldn't want, etc... The point is just that WONDER in this context seems to imply an insatiable thirst for Jesus. It implies that God created our hearts with threads of awe and appreciation for WHO HE IS, and nothing else. It shows that our hearts will never be satisfied until we stop and wonder at the deep and beautiful complexity of what He has made. And it shows that unless we have the desire to notice the millions of traces of His goodness that He leaves, we will miss out on something incredibly good. Our hearts were made to worship-- to wonder with authenticity about the unique complexity of what God created. And they were made to enjoy the wonderfully simplistic ways He uses to reveal this quality of Himself to us.

What I mean is that everyday happenings like the sunrise or sunset are so very simple, but when you stop and truly take a look at what is before you, there is no way that your heart doesn't WONDER at who could create such an incredible piece of art solely out of air... My heart jumps every time I see the strikingly vivid colors of the sunrise in the morning. Something in me stirs at the sound of thunder and the smell of fall. I can't help but feel without a doubt that there must be something more to life when I stand on the summit of a mountain and am able to see for what feels like thousands of miles!

We were not meant to suppress the desire our hearts feel to worship! It is exactly what we were created for! It is the life we were meant to pursue!

Wondering with you,

Allison :)