Off in the distance there were beautiful rolling hills covered in purple and still further could be seen towering majestic mountains with snow covered peaks. The sky was that deep blue that seems impossible and looks like something in a Thomas Kinkade painting, with the occasional wisps of stratus clouds hovering tens of thousands of feet above.
As we walked across the fields, Jesus remained silent, but intently focused on His task of getting us to a certain destination. I kept anticipating that He’d say something, but He just marched forward with intensity and some urgency, and I followed along slightly behind Him wondering what He was going to show me.
After a period of time, how long I do not know, I could tell that we were headed towards an ancient California Oak Tree that towered above the fields. As we grew ever closer, I could see a small river running alongside the Oak tree, separating the fields of greens from the beginning of the foothills. Along the banks of the river were incredibly beautiful orange poppies in perfect bloom and color.
Regardless of Jesus’ purpose in this journey, it was a truly spectacular sight.
And then, we arrived at Jesus’ destination. In the shadows of the spreading branches of the California Oak Tree, He stopped. Turning to me, He reached out His hand in invitation for me to to take it.
I did.
Peace. Overwhelming peace flooded my being. The connection of my palm in His strong hands was like electricity to my soul. “All is well.” was my unconscious thought.
“Yes, all is well indeed.” He stated with warmth. “I’ve brought you here today precisely so that you can discover in a new way just how well things are for you, as you live with your hand in mine. Be still and be seated. There are things I must instruct you in.”
I did as I was told. My heart beating hard in my chest in anticipation. “What will He say? What mysteries will unfold? Am I being given a new assignment?” were my thought as my mind raced in excitement.
“Son.” He said, then paused.
“Yes?” I replied anxiously.
“Son, you have much to learn about my kind of living. You’ve allowed yourself to believe a hybrid ideal of what genuine life is all about, and I’m going to help you get some clarity on the real deal.” He said by way of introduction.
I looked at Him in wonder.
“As we sit under this Oak Tree,” he continued, “there are Truths to encounter that will help you see genuine life for what it really is, not the hybrid ideal that you’ve embraced.”
“What do you mean by hybrid?” I asked.
“You’ve embraced a mish-mash of ideas about abundant life. You’ve taken your late 20th century middle class American ideas of success, along with your ethnic and gender perspectives and you’ve mixed them with what you read in Scripture. Hence the hybridization. For instance, look around your culture. Everything is big. Big cars, big homes, even the size of your soft drinks is really really big. You may not know it, but you’ve identified that ‘bigger is better.’”
“That’s true.” I replied thoughtfully.
“Or, look at what is considered to be a successful church. Big. You’ve got a name for them: Mega Church. And the bigger a church is, the more people who attend, the more successful the pastor is. You know this is true! Go to a typical meeting of pastors, the first question that will be asked is, ‘how big is your church?’” He said all of this without even the slightest hint of anger or judgment.
“I want you to see things as they really are. No mixing of ideas, but clarity. Which is why I have brought you to my Oak Tree. When a young Oak Tree sprouts, it sends down a tap root deep into the earth. This tap root draws water from springs deep below the surface of the earth up into the furthest reaches of the young tree. From the tap root springs forth thousands of smaller roots that run parallel to the surface at an extremely shallow depth. The smaller roots extend further than the drip line of the branches of the tree, and provides a wide stance for the tree which enables it to withstand storms and winds. Without these shallow roots, the tree would be in danger of being blown over.” He instructed. “The tree must have the tap root going deep and the shallow roots going wide in order to thrive. Like the Oak Tree, you must go deep to find the nourishment that will lead you into genuine life that I’ve promised. Go deep into the mysteries of Who I AM, explore the unknown, walk away from the ordinary, superficialities of pop culture and live differently. And go wide, don’t get boxed in by small minded people or groups. Go wide, look for places where I am shining, and as you do, you’ll develop a wide stance that will enable you to weather the storms of life.”
“I’d never considered this before.” I replied.
“Listen, Son,” he spoke confidently, “This tree will be here for hundreds of years. It knows the source of life. This is what I want for you. Long term stability. I want you to recognize what real life is, and I want you to immediately recognize impostors. Go deep, go wide.”
“I said,” He continued, “‘I have come to give life even life abundant.’ This is what my highest goal for you is. I want you to experience genuine abundant living. Life in me is really, really good. It’s really free. Abundant life is life without rules, without limitations, the impossible becomes possible. Miracles become normal. Life in me is so much larger than anything that you’ve ever experienced. It’s larger than anything you’ve seen. I didn’t come to earth to call you to be religious. I didn’t come to call you to follow some set of moral guidelines. I came to set you free to be who I made you to be. This is life, I’ve called you to genuinely experience Me, and as you do so, your life takes on qualities that last forever!”
“But, what about what the Bible says? Aren’t there rules? Aren’t there things that I shouldn’t do?” I asked.
“Of course. But the rules have become too big in many people’s minds, in fact, the rules have replaced Me. Rules, principles, guidelines are not abundant life. I am abundant life. As you pursue friendship with me, rules just lose their importance. If you live in an atmosphere of genuine love, you don’t need rules. Love trumps rules.” He explained.
I thought about this for awhile. Initially, it was quite a conundrum. All of my life I had been instructed in following the rules, in keeping to what was expected of me. And while I was never perfect at it, and in many ways I’d always been quite rebellious against the rules, I still knew enough to do my best to obey. If for no other reason than fear. Fear of what might happen if I got caught breaking the rules. And now, I’m hearing Jesus present something quite differently to me.
“So,” I posed. “I don’t have to obey the rules and You’ll still love me? That can’t be right.”
“Look at it from a different perspective, Son.” He said. “I love you so much. I always have and I always will. My love isn’t going anywhere. Ever. I love you when you’ve got it together and I love you when you don’t. Here’s my question for you, given what I just said, how does that make you feel?”
I considered what He had said for a moment. His love wasn’t going anywhere, it wasn’t based upon my performance. He loves because that’s what He does. As I thought about it, the word “Safe” came to mind.
“That’s great. I want you to feel safe. And now that you feel safe, what do you want to do?” He asked.
Jesus asks great questions. He messes with your head. He really is good at causing you to think outside the box.
“Well, I want to show you that I love you for loving me first!” I replied.
“Exactly. You don’t need rules for that. It’s coming from within you.” He stated enthusiastically.
I thought about this for awhile. “I don’t need rules to show You that I love You. I get it. Because You love me, and I want to love you back, rules aren’t important. When I love, I want to do what is right to demonstrate my love! I get it!” I said as I experienced my ‘aha’ moment.
“Correctomundo, Son. You get it.” He said happily.
This was pretty revolutionary stuff. Certainly not what I had heard preached from many pulpits. The preoccupation most people in leadership seem to exhibit is that of trying to exercise control over their congregations via presenting certain expected norms that people need to adhere to. But Jesus was saying something very different. He wasn’t denying that certain behaviors are right or wrong, but He was saying that the ability to live according His standards is not found in what we do but in how much we are loved. If I am loved, I can love in return.
It was then that I looked up at the Oak Tree towering above us, and raised one more question.
“So, what do I do? How do I put this into practice? How do I go deep and go wide?” came my sincere question.
“Look for me. Search me out. All the time. Make it a little game you play, like ‘where’s Waldo!’” He said laughing out loud. “Seriously, in all circumstances, make sure that you look for My Presence. As you do so, I’ll make My life clear to you. Son, if you’ll make it your life goal to find Me, trust Me when I say, I’ll make Myself clear to you.”
“You aren’t going to wear a red stripped shirt are you?” I asked teasingly. I figured if He was going to mess with my head, I could mess with His a bit. Just a bit, though.
No comments:
Post a Comment