I need you to know something about Jesus.
You’re going to meet a lot of people who think they have all the answers. They’ll tell you they’re the only ones who are right about Jesus. They’ll tell you their interpretation of the Bible is the one and only. They’ll have rules for you to follow and lanes for you to stay in, but it’s important that you know this much. If any of these people tell you that you aren’t free to ask questions, have doubts, and wonder about it all, then they aren’t representing Jesus at all. They aren’t looking to help you know God, they are looking for you to fall into line. God’s not afraid of your questions. Period.
If God had wanted us all to have the same relationship with Him, then He’d have made us all the same. But He didn’t, did He? He made each of us unique and then He put us all here together. We each have different learning styles and ways of understanding. We don’t all feel loved and connected in the same ways. Doesn’t it make sense that He would want to connect with each of us in those ways? Then what works for one might not work for all, right?
We aren’t robots, you guys.
God didn’t program us all and then say, “You guys figure this life thing out and then meet me over there.”
Nope. Nope. Nope.
He said, “I know this is a lot. I’ll send Jesus to meet you where you are and together you can work toward me.”
I know it’s confusing and it’s hard to make sense of, but I promise it’s worth it when you really and truly feel the love of Jesus.
How will you know? You can only know for yourself, but for me, He is peace when the world is crazy. And contentment in a greedy world. He is love despite the noise of hatred. He is forgiveness when I’m sure I’ve messed up too big. And hope when all is lost. He is the ability to put one foot in front of the other and step forward in faith, even when I can’t see past the next curve in the road.
He is not a fact to be memorized or a hoop to jump through. He is not the algorithm that gets us to God.
He is love in action and He meets us where we are.
What a gift that is. Here’s to the process of getting to know God, walking with Jesus, and letting the Spirit move us as we live this life together.
Hugs, Mandy
