Our Greatest Reality

Are you like me, and find that there are just some truths about 

God

His Strange Love for us

His Backwards Kingdom ways 

That are almost impossible to understand with our earthly minds??

It's funny because I can hear a story about 

The whole earth flooding, a ton of animals on a huge boat, for 40 days and nights

And.......... No one get eaten!?!?

I'll Shrug...

"Ya... Sure.. I'll believe that.. what the heck"

Or

What about that crazy mammoth Jerhico wall that fell from everyone yelling at it?

"Uh... a tad far fetched.."

But for some reason, I Believe it and it starts the movie reel of my imagination going 
Projecting on my heart 

Or 
The young boy David 

A slingshot, a bunch of courage, one stone, square in the forehead, and this monster of a man is down for the count

Makes my eyes sparkle with wonder 

And my mouth to say with assurance....

"Oh ya!.... This story is Totally True!"

It's the big fanatical fables, that send the realists of this world into angry fist clenched tailspins

Yet, it's those adventures that light this naive,  not so young anymore,  story teller up inside

Chronicles of God's might and provision and creative genius, with a dash of romance 

(Woohoo, it's like he writes for me!!)

And Then

Days like 

Sunday January 26, 2014

Sermon time

Pastor Rowan standing up at the front

A big red, over filled water balloon of
 Living Water Truth 

Gently being tossed from one hand to the other
Metaphorically of course

Back and forth

Back and forth

I'm six feet away from him 

Waiting in the second row

Strategically positioned with no tall heads in front of me

My eyes locked on the red target

"That balloon is mine" I whisper through gritted teeth

Eyeing my opponents on either side of me......

"The one on my right might pose a threat..... I'll keep my eye on him"

See

It's been a hot, scorching, dry, mid July kinda week

I came to church today over heated from life

Ready to play 

Ready to be soaked and cooled with God's word

Catch any sort of refreshing, life water,  that could be thrown my way

I came ready to get drenched

Rowan crouches down

Red balloon of truth held like a foot ball 

Looks left

Then right 

Leans back and winds up for the throw

In slow motion the red balloon releases to the crowd

"You Belong To Goddddddddd!"

He yells

My eyes wide

I see that vessel of liquid goodness sailing towards me 

It's coming high, a little over my head 

Instinctively

 I'm out of my seat

Thirst compelling my leap

Hands positioned for the catch

I can feel the rubbery blob in my hands as I make the grab

Uh-Oh.......

I'm finding I can't quite get a grip

It takes all my effort to hold onto it for more than 5 seconds

"NOOOOOOOOO.....!"

This oddly constituted water balloon slips through my grip

I follow it to the floor

Swiping at this rolling mass of red

"I don't even care what I look like, right now"

I try to wrestle it to the ground 

I want this for my very own!

I want to ram it down in my heart before it gets away.....

Again

It's odd to me how I can readily receive tales of talking donkeys, a whale belly camp out, magic hair that makes you strong, tap water turning into a smooth glass of Pinot Grigio
 With arms, heart and imagination wide open

I don't question these things

It's those weighty words:

I belong to God

I am the righteousness of God

I am an heir to everything my Father in Heaven has because of what Jesus did for me

God is FOR me

I am absolutely, amazingly, extravagantly, perfectly, unconditionally a delight to Heaven.....
 Period.  
No matter what!

Uh.... This is where I hesitate........

Where I start to flounder, my tongue gets tied and my head starts to hurt.. Like seriously hurt!

Wrapping my mind around and Believing these simple, foundational
 Universe changing truths 

Seem as elusive as catching that dang slippery ungrippable red water balloon

Oh man

Do I ever want to Believe

In fact, I want nothing more than to have these truths weave their way through ever fibre of my being 

Taking over me 

You heard me

 Complete system override!

I want it more than anything else!

It's always easier for a dreamer to reside in the world of ideals, romance
 Euphoric Utopian places of paradise

Which is probably why I can recite all the dialogue in Tangled
Dream about snuggling up to Aslan

Fantasise about all the beautiful gowns that Queen Esther got to wear in the palace

I can enjoy these for moments of warm delightful bliss without the startle of 
Harsh cold reality interrupting

Reality is a dreamers Nemesis 

It's true

And for some reason

I can be fanciful about so many things in life 

But when it comes to Christina and her day to days

I am a cold hard facts kinda gal

I am a realist to the core 

So when I hear that I am as Loved by God as His perfect son Jesus.......

My heart pounds so hard I think it will leap out of my chest 

My palms sweat 

My soul starts to swoon 

....... For about 20 seconds

Or an hour

I can stay in the land of the Lovableness of Christina

For about as long as I can manage to hold onto that wobbly balloon 

I am faced with the realities of Christina every single day 

I see her in the mirror

I hear her "not so honouring" words to Trevor that replay like a record that should be smashed 

I feel her fears and insecurities 

I carry her stress 

And know her thoughts... (Yikes!)

Oh, for me to Believe something else in the face of the Christina 
I can see, touch, taste, smell, and hear 

Now, that is hard work!

While Rowan was preaching yesterday

My mind uncomfortably expanding and feeling like its about to burst

A verse popped up in my head 

Ephesians 1:17&18

Paul Speaking to Christina about the things of God she can't quite seem to grap on her own

"Christina, I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Glorious Father 

May give you the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation so that you may know Him better

I pray also, that the Eyes of your Heart (your understanding) may be enlightened (Flooded with light)

That you may know the Hope to which He has called you, and the Riches of His glorious Inheritance in the saints"

That's it!

This is what I need 

Right now, my physical mind is conditioned to see the reality of my world 

Myself

What I need is for my natural eyes to close 

I need my life here on earth to become dim for a moment

And 
The Spirit of God to shine a big old light straight into my Heart

Flooding it with Life and Truth

With His reality 

Which to be honest

Unless my natural eyes are closed, 

His Life and Truth seem way too good to be true 

There is a difference between the realities of heaven and my escaping to an afternoon in Narnia, with Lucy
When I should be doing school 

Heaven is not a place I escape to 

God's Love is not just there to make me feel all fuzzy for a few moments 

The razor sharp sword of Truth is not for me to day dream about as I stand in the grocery line

Stabbing all the bags of chips by the till 

These realities from heaven are meant, not as an escape 

From life 

From Self

They are meant to Invade our lives 

To become the world that we live in 

Operate out of 

The words of God are meant to be our eyes

Our mirror

It's not fanciful or whimsical like a fluffy fairytale 

Its Powerful and more real than anything we can see, feel, taste, smell or touch here on this earth!

Oh God, 

Would you give us (Your bride) the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation for the things of you

Flood our Hearts with light and hope

Where our minds are blocked and conditioned to the logic of this world

Help us to Believe in the craziness of Heaven 

Like blind eyes opening

Waters parting for radical escapes from the plots of the enemy

Like being worth the death of Your only son

Being the recipient of your Fatherly embrace in the face of all our lost, sinful, rebellious brokenness

Help us to Believe it all

We are Your Treasured Possession 

Your very own Dearly Loved children 

We Belong to You

May these somehow be the Greatest realities of our lives

* Pictures taken at Comicon 2013
*Drawings by Nadine Mcgrath (One of the Lovely girls in our Youth group... Years ago)