Since this blog is still considered to be “new,” I will continue to help to establish a framework for what our overall goal will be in writing. We want to provide a place where our team can contribute to your love for Jesus through these short writings in a consistent way. We want to fuel the fire that is burning in your heart for the person and presence of Jesus. Which is why it was a no brainer to us as to where to begin—learning how to love Him well. Now, this is a massive conversation, obviously, because there seems to be an almost unlimited number of objects that we could discuss. But, we have chosen to begin in a very intentional place, and that is: attention.
It has been said that you become what you behold. John the baptist appeared in the wilderness and the cry of his heart was this- “Behold the Lamb.” Beholding the Lamb is not just a declarative statement that should jolt our immediate attention. Beholding the Lamb is a way of life, and is to be a way of life for those of us that are seeking to cultivate an intimate awareness of the presence and voice of the Lamb in our daily lives.
When seeking to develop an intimate awareness of the presence and voice of Jesus in our daily lives I think it is critical that we understand that there is a maturing process to our walk with Him. There are seasons. There are time periods through which we are developed. In these various time periods, or seasons—I like the word seasons, just don’t take it in the real “churchy” way—there is love, teaching, testing, pruning, discipline, and much more. But it is important to know that you are being developed. This should take a little bit of the pressure off of you to feel like you have to go to sleep tonight and wake up tomorrow as the super perfect Jesus lover that you have in your minds-eye of becoming. But what this also is not is a license to be sloppy and unintentional.
There is a beautiful balance in walking with Jesus. He knows exactly where we are, yet loves us too much to allow us to remain, even when we would be deeply satisfied to camp out. He lovingly influences us and romances us into better versions of ourselves. He initiates. He empowers our response to His invitation. He sustains our ability to walk with Him with Himself. He tenderly shepherds our lives. And then He rewards us with Himself for the faithfulness that He makes provision for. HE sounds pretty amazing, huh? That’s the whole point, He is!
In speaking about developing through the seasons of God, Paul says, “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.” (1 Cor 13:11) Of all the things that we could potentially say about this verse I will choose to say this one thing—There are seasons where what was okay yesterday is no longer okay today. What exactly do I mean? I am glad that you asked. There are seasons where there will be a specific grace for where you are. And in that season the behaviors, mindsets, issues of attention, may fit the season that you are in, and it may be perfectly okay because that is where you are. However, there comes moments of encounter, visitation, loving invitations from the Lord to come up a little higher, come out a little farther, grow up and in to Him a little more, where He initiates a process in order to help you mature beyond what you believe is your current capacity. This is beautiful in operation. And at times can be beautifully painful.
It’s like a toddler wearing a diaper. It’s right, because it matches their season. And it is not necessarily expected for that certain phase to be moved through much quicker than what is naturally anticipated in the process of development. But you don’t want to be in your mid 40’s still wearing pampers! Or, being pampered for that matter. Even though this might sound silly, the truth is very obvious. There are certain behaviors, dressings, and attitudes that might match certain periods of development, and there is a grace for it in that season. But seasons change, and grow up we must!
Earlier in the letter to the corinthians Paul says, “Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial.” In life, we have to learn to master the art of asking questions. There is much to be learned when we learn to ask the right questions. When I first became born again I had a burning desire to walk in a way that was pleasing to the Lord. I am sure that all of us can share in this sentiment. It is not something that I only reference as to when I was first born again, because I still carry the desire as real, or greater, than when I first encountered the Lord. But my questions in the beginning were always shaped this way, “Can I do this?” “Can I watch this movie?” “Can I listen to this artist, or this type of music?” “Can I have these types of conversations?” I was always asking questions because I wanted to know where the boundaries were and what would be acceptable or unacceptable. I wanted to know what was right and what was wrong. This was in the beginning, and it was okay for the beginning.
As I matured in the Lord I began to realize that I was asking the wrong questions. Again, Paul says all things are permissible. You can actually do anything that you want to. But just because you can do anything that you want to doesn’t mean that you should, because not everything is going to be helpful to you. I have learned over time that although all things are permissible there is a much more important question that must be considered, and it is this—how will this affect my awareness of Him? Now we are getting somewhere.
You have to begin to see “right” and “wrong” as elementary. It is the basics. And, again, for that season it is okay. But when you are growing up, you realize that something can be right for others and also not be right for you. James says that any man who knows what he should do and he does not do it, that it is sin to him. (1:17) An intimate awareness of the Lord begins to establish for you what is right and what is wrong. It doesn’t matter how crazy or wild it may seem to others. It doesn’t matter all of your friends encourage or celebrate certain things. You can know in a moment that something is not right for you, and it will come by the personal accountability to the indwelling and life giving Holy Spirit that has taken up residency on the inside.
If something affects your awareness of Him, it must be seen as an enemy in your life. If something disrupts your sensitivity to Him, you must deal with it. You cannot and should not give place to things that are going to displace your attentiveness to Him. This is part of growing up in our walk with Him. He must increasingly become everything to us. And as He does, He will lovingly and tenderly speak to things in our lives that are hindering the way that we desire to love Him. He knows best. And He leads best when we give Him His place in our hearts.
Again, in our developmental stages we must never mistake His allowance to mean His acceptance. He may allow certain things in a season, but that doesn’t mean that He deems it to be what’s best for you. But then, when it is time to grow and go, the grace will lift, and certain immaturities that used to be enjoyed, the enjoyment will lift and it will trouble you until you allow God to transform you. This is how it is supposed to be.
