THE INVITATION

            I recently heard a Christian brother ask this same question at a storytelling festival. Have you ever thought about the phrase, “…and Jesus stretched out His hand?” Truthfully, I had not.

            But since I am a visual learner, I had mentally painted numerous pictures of Him at the Bethesda pool inviting a crippled man to his feet. On another occasion Jesus reached up from the mud toward a blind man’s eyes and restored his sight. He also gently touched an unconscious girl and commanded her to awaken from her lifeless coma. There were loaves and fish to serve, bread to break, and wine to pour. He used His rough carpenter hands to touch people’s lives. Every time Jesus extended His open hand, He invited their response.

            “Do you want to be well?” He asked.

 Many accepted His invitation. All who responded received healing, deliverance, and forgiveness!

            Today when people say “yes” to an invitation, they know it’s frequently an offer to come or go somewhere pleasurable and hospitable. William has been singing a short chorus lately that goes like this,

“Father, glorify Yourself,

Father, glorify Yourself,

Father, glorify Yourself in me.

Whether pleasure or in pain,

o’er my life I give You reign,

Father, glorify Yourself in me.”

            It wasn’t until Bill recently asked me about “suffering” that I recognized the fullness of Jesus’ invitation when He extended His hand to me. It was far from hospitable and pleasurable.

            We all have our perspectives about the sufferings of Jesus. Usually people automatically think of His crucifixion and the natural pain of scourging and the horror of being nailed to a cross. He thirsted for water but was given gall on a sponge. It’s said that in order to breathe, He used His spiked feet to leverage His body up enough to inhale.

            These examples can hardly describe the depth of His physical agonies. Consider the emotional and mental anguish that terrorized Him in advance. So much so, that He sweat drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane. What about the incessant mocking? False accusations and a close friend’s betrayal? The judicial interrogations, the disciple’s abandonment and His own family’s unbelief? What about His Father who rejected Him because God couldn’t bear to look at sin? Our sin….my sin.

            Your afflictions may be a terminal diagnosis, chronic physical pain; a lawsuit, office politics or slander in social media; the death of a loved one, a separation, divorce or the absence of a friend when you need them most. Many personal distresses in life are the crimes others commit against us and dealing with the consequences is an ongoing reality. In my past, I found it difficult to admit the crimes against me were self-inflicted wounds from the poor choices I had made. More evil was an enemy that continually assaulted me with temptations to unbelief that God or anyone, for that matter, really cared.

            My life genuinely changed when I discovered an authentic fellowship with the person of Jesus. Now I understand, if only in part. The fullness of accepting His outstretched hand does include suffering. More importantly, responding consistently in faith, trusting and obeying, no matter the circumstances or outcome, matures and sustains my relationship with the Lover of my soul. This is the marvelous mystery of a life in Christ and Christ in me. A well of Living water that I’m invited to drink from and I "get to" pour out to others.

            His invitation isn’t just about the fellowship of His suffering. His outstretched hand provides an opportunity for becoming “partakers” in a community of victorious overcomers. My life changed when I gave myself to a community of like-minded Jesus Becomers who are loving me to wholeness.  From Revelation 3:21:

            “He who overcomes (is victorious), I will grant him to sit beside Me on My throne, as I Myself overcame (was victorious) and sat down beside My Father on His throne.”   
            

            “Have you ever considered the times when Jesus stretched out His hand to you?” He waits with open ears that hear your every prayer. He waits with open eyes that see every tear. He waits with an open heart that feels your every wound. He longs to grasp your life with the mighty grip of His outstretched hand.  

“Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father, except through Him.” 

John 14:6

With an outstretched hand, He is waiting for you.... to choose. 

How will you respond to His invitation?

(c)2014-2016

ABUNDANT LIFE...MY CUP RUNNETH OVER!

      In spite of his pressing health issues, my desire to introduce my husband at our family reunion prevailed and we changed our plans to attend at the last minute. A quick getaway trip over a long weekend was “just what the doctor ordered.”

        Afterwards, William and I returned home and resumed the daily routine. Our custom is morning devotions before breakfast. Armed with warm coffee, our Bibles and two devotionals for guidance, we settled comfortably into the wing back chairs by the window. And like most mornings, the reading stimulated dialogue for possible life applications. From October 20 in Sarah Young’s “Jesus Calling,” I read aloud,

          “I am your living God, far more abundantly alive than the most vivacious person you know. The human body is wonderfully crafted, but gravity and the inevitable effects of aging weigh it down. Even the most superb athlete cannot maintain his fitness over many decades. Lasting abundant life can be found in Me alone.”

          I finished the page and Bill asked,

           “Kate, what does abundant life look like?”

        It is his way, asking what something looks like to further our understanding. I remembered the Amplified translation of John 10:10 and I heard myself repeating words like, “full, to the fullest, till overflowing.” Our discussion turned a corner when Bill looked squarely at me and said,

          “In my adult life, I’ve never been to a family reunion quite like yours.”

           “What do you mean?”

          “Kate, if I were asked to describe an abundant life, I’d begin with kitchen counters filled with rich meats, vegetables, breads, appetizers and desserts with coffee and teapots that never emptied. As absent soldiers’ pictures stood like sentinels guarding the chow line, proud parents and siblings paid tribute to their military family members as they milled freely about. Against a panoramic view of the Texas hill country, a table filled with homemade craft items and baked goods competed for the highest bid to help fund the next reunion. River walks, tractor rides, skeet shoots, hula hoops and rope toys, scrabble games, wildflowers, centipedes and dragonflies enhanced the menu as well as cows mooing, dogs barking, children laughing, men whistling, and women chatting. Aunts, uncles and cousins alike perused the family albums and told memorable stories to help bridge the generation gaps. These are the conversations that cannot fit on paper or paintings fit for a canvas. This picture of abundant life is a colorful palette of variety that could never be improved with Photoshop."

          For a moment, I was speechless, but it was true. He had just described the reunion. Our family works hard to create these Kodak moments that anyone would covet. I never realized how covetous until Bill shared his observations.  I am a part of a family that can’t be owned, but ours is a true wealth that can be possessed. This is the prosperity of my soul.

          Bill continued,

          “Many people acquire these relational opportunities, but few truly apprehend them. Just like some folks never truly apprehend their divine identity and enjoy a genuine, relational life in Jesus.”

          I confess I have taken my earthly family for granted. Some of these relationships have been white water rapids and others, placid tidal pools. You probably have similar relationships in your life. In either case, an abundant life begins with an invitation “to dive in,” a permission “to look around and see what you find.” But “life exchange” requires a response to the invitation.

         As believers, we said, “Yes” to His outstretched hand when we were drowning. Then the Lord gave us to a spiritual family that continually invites us to safely wade in deeper. Hopefully, you are finding refreshment and leading others to the River of Life. From the Gospel of John, we read,

          “Now on the final and most important day of the Feast, Jesus stood and He cried in a loud voice, ‘If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me [who cleaves to and trusts in and relies on Me], as the Scripture has said, ‘From his innermost being shall flow [continuously] springs and rivers of living water.’” John 7:37-38 AMP                                                                

Come on in, the water is fine!

©2014-2016