God has invited each one of us on a spiritual journey called... life. The answers to the questions we seek are not found within ourselves, but rather through relationship with Him. Ephesians 5 sums it up for us; "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children, and live a life of love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us...no immoral, impure, or greedy person (such a person worships idols) will have any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light." Here is what God's spiritual Journey looks like; and, I promise you, the final destination is worth it.
1. EAT- Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
Although I do humor at the 'Liz's' tag-line, "I'm having a no-carb-left-behind experience", gluttony usually produces pain and the inability to wear our skinny jeans. God says taste what I am all about, and you will never be hungry or lack again. An invitation to this King's table is more than just about food. It's about being healed from our hurts, scars and the things in life that cripple us and then being blessed with fellowship and communion. "He is wooing you from the jaws of distress, to a spacious place free from restriction, to the comfort of your table laden with choice food." (Job 36:15-16) One of the best examples in the Bible is the story of Mephibosheth. He was crippled in both feet; lame as the result of injuries. The wounds the world had inflicted caused him not only be treated but to feel unworthy of any respect. Most of all he despised himself. He was empty on the inside; sound like our movie protagonist? When invited to sit at King David's table he asked, "What is your servant that you should notice a dead dog like me?" But for kindness sake he was allowed to eat at the King's table every day for the rest of his life, just like he was family. God does the same for you and I; when we finally get to reside in his house, where he has many rooms (John 14:2), Jesus has prepared a place for you at the greatest banquet you can imagine. Just taste...you'll see.
2. PRAY Ephesians 2:3-5 All of us..gratifying our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts...But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved.
The next step in a personal journey with God is getting to know Him. To develop any relationship, you have to spend time with a person. God says, if you seek Him, you will find him. And when you find Him what you will realize is that he wants relationship with you; he wants your heart. Relationship with God isn't about always doing the right thing or being perfect. If we as humans could achieve perfection, God wouldn't have needed to send his Son. Here is the problem with karma...there is no concept of forgiveness; your slate can never be wiped clean. And because no matter how hard you try (which in itself is exhausting) we are not perfect (holy) and can never achieve it on our own. Why? Because the measuring stick of your goodness is not your neighbor...it is God's son, Jesus. The rest of the same passage in Ephesians reads,"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast." Grace is unmerited favor from God. Once I grasped, through relationship with God (which is what prayer really is), what He did for me personally by sending his son Jesus, I couldn't help but live the thing out. I am on planet Earth for a purpose and I am most fulfilled when living smack dab in the middle of that calling from God. "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:10)
3. LOVE: 1st Corinth 13:2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
You can't love people if you first don't fully know the love of God. Once you fully comprehend God's grace for you, it is much easier to grace others. This is where many of us, including myself fall short. We compare God's love to the love we have received from people in our life; there is no comparison. God's love for you is measureless! (Ephesians 3) In the Bible, God is pretty darn meticulous when it comes to measurements. He loves numbers. But in regard to you, there is no limit. His love is patient, kind, not proud, not self-seeking, not easily angered, keeps no record of wrongs. It protects, trusts, hopes and perseveres. God's word tells us, "whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." What this word means, is that if you and I really understood the full measure of God's love for you (_your name here__) personally, your cup would be so overflowing that none of us would have to take a trip around the world to get it full. We wouldn't walk around all day with our proverbial cups out asking to be filled by others; we wouldn't need it to be filled by others. That would be worth the trip for me right there! When your love cup is full, you can love the un-loveable. When your love cup is full, you can extend grace to people who don't deserve it. The bottom line is this...love is the ONLY feeling that God calls us to act upon. Stop here and meditate on this one for a minute. No other emotion does God ask you to take into your own hands...not anger, not jealousy, not fear, not boredom, and definitely not purposelessness. God's kind of love is an action, not a feeling. "For God so loved the world that He sent his one and only Son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
Each one of us is on a spiritual journey. It begins with a single step. What path are you on? God is calling you to an abundant life in relationship with him that manifests itself in a calling that will love others into his kingdom and gain them a place at the banquet table. "You are called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather serve one another in love." (Galations 5:13) Go ahead, eat, pray, love.
