In January, I wrote this in my journal. Today, I felt like God told me to share it.
"The Lord spoke to Moses as man speaks to a friend. The glory of the Lord's face was to much for Moses to to see face to face. The Lord speaks to me as he speaks face to face with a friend. "For," he says, "I have found favor in His sight, and He knows me by name." He will make all of His goodness pass before me, that I am able to walk in the goodness of the one true God. He calls me HIS, unstained by the world, for in His truth I am able to repel any untrue thought that may try to come up against me. Therefore, I will speak to my Jesus as if speaking to a friend, because YOU, my God, are my friend, and You think more than the world of me."
"My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." Exodus 33:14
The God of the Universe was looking for something that he so desperately wanted: friendship. He creates man, he calls us HIS. He calls you and I friend. We are blameless; created in His image that He may be glorified. And then, we fell. The serpent spoke sweet, like a temptress, that we might follow him instead of the God we were created to follow. The bond between God and man is broken. The enemy is overjoyed. Man sees the truth, and no longer sees himself as beautiful; covering himself. God never meant for us to hide. His portion for us was never to feel shame. But we chose what appeared to be the loudest voice in the room, over the voice of the one who was closest. The heart of God was broken, the heart of man; lost in sin. God needed us to see His face for who He truly was, so He sends the ultimate picture of grace, in the form of a CHILD. A child who grew up just like you and me; in a world begging us to choose to belong to it. The world gave us temptation of sin sent in all the right packaging. "It'll be fun," and "you aren't doing anything wrong" stamped all over the wrapping paper. But this child knew a false wrapping job when he saw it; and he had a job to do. He found some men, 12 to be exact, to invest in. These few would do the same to a few, then those to a few, for generations. With these men he broke bread, travelled, worshipped, prayed, LIVED. He taught through word and deed. Until one day, it was time to leave it up to his students. He came to pay a debt; one that you and I deserved to pay. But on his way to the bank, he didn't walk in fear. He lived in the present. He got every ounce of life out of his time possible, before it was his turn at the counter. It was never about him. It was always about what he could do to make life better for us. There is no one who has ever walked this earth who lived a more present, intentional life.
So next time you are living life in anticipation or worry of your next destination, think about Jesus - a man who took advantage of every second. He was investing in people, loving on people, healing people, all on his way to the CROSS, where he would finally check our debt off of the list of "things owed," forever.
So that now, God can call us friend. So that NOW, he can have what He originially intended and what we never deserved:
friendship.
Exodus 33
