WHAT A LOVE STORY...CONTINUED

For those who actually read this on a daily basis, I apologize for the week-long delay of this post. I would love to convince myself that I am invincible, but I am not. I have been dealing with some oppression from the enemy, and I tend to retreat and lick my wounds when that happens. Fortunately, I have amazing friends that the Lord has blessed me with, and they have helped pulled me out of my funk. I also recently lost my job, so if anyone wants to tell Phillip Yancy I'm writing this killer blog, I would be much obliged.

Anyway; enough about me. This isn't about me. I pick up where we left off. God sent His only Son to be the ultimate sacrifice to restore His love to Himself. And His Son goes willingly! He experiences first-hand how petty and self-centered we really are. At times, it seems like the only way to get our attention is to do a great miracle and 'put on a show.' But He keeps on, knowing that by being faithful to His Father, that He will restore all people for all time. Wow.
So, He dies. I come along thousand of years later, and I am not living for Him at all. As a matter of fact, I hardly know He exists. I am caught up in the world and loving it. Or at least convincing myself that I love it. I convince myself that I have my piece of the pie and I deserve even more.
Then, God gets a hold of me in a big way. He turns my whole life around in an instant. He restores so much, and even brings new things. New friendships, new marriages, new passion for life. And, the faithful reader asks;

WHAT'S THE POINT...

Oh, the God that loves me so much still doesn't get the attention He deserves from me. I don't live my life for Jesus. Sometimes, I don't even mention His name when I should. My sister-in-law made a comment about me reading the bible for five hours a day (she was not paying me a compliment either) and I wanted to change her perception of me. I didn't want to correct her because she was mistaken about my dedication, but rather because I didn't want her to think that I was one of those bible-banging Christian types.
But I want to be! I want everyone who reads this blog to understand one thing very clearly: I was a disaster. I was a drug addict that should have died. I was a train wreck of a mother and a partner and they should have abandoned me long ago. And God...Why would He even want to waste His time?
But He did. The God of the universe, the lover of my soul, took me into His arms and changed everything. He loves to do that. He takes the least likely and makes them His. He should be my lover, my best friend, and with me always. But I'm distracted by money, by success, by the stupid television. I can even read about Him more than from Him.
Oh, why be so hard on myself? People need to work, they need to achieve, and then to relax.
Consider this a wake-up call. For those who don't believe...He wants to love you too. He wants to take you into His massive arms and love all the hurt away. He wants to fill the parts in you that ache for something more. He will love you so well, you'll wonder why you wasted so much time getting there.
For those of you who believe...Get up. It's high time that we ready ourselves for our Bridegroom. He's watching...And He'll be coming. We need to starting acting like His children, by living every part of ourselves for Him. I think about all the people who die without Him everyday, and I wonder why we waste so much time hanging out where they don't need our help for their souls. I say this just as much for myself as anyone else. I want to wake up for Him in the morning and go to bed singing Him a song of praise. Revival starts with one heart broken open by the Lord almighty. Let Him in and break you. Think about it.