What a beautiful Sunday it has been! It's so ironic how most of New Mexico was layered up and in snow boots last week and in shorts today-- I love it!
But what I have loved most about today is-- washing dishes.
We quite the load of dirty dishes so I had about 1 hour of cleaning to do, but I got to spend it talking with Jesus about different things-- silly things, dumb things, scary things and things that hurt. And it was just sweet.
To be able to talk with the One who understands us wholly and completely, without fear of being rejected or misunderstood is a beautiful, beautiful privilege we have in our relationship with Jesus.
And what God showed me during this time of scrub-a-dubbin is that ENJOYING the relationship we have with Jesus is something we often overlook or miss. We can get so caught up in the rut of life and the "duty" of "religion" that we forget to enjoy Him and what He's done.
I was thinking about people that I know in my life who have such a deep and intimate relationship with Jesus that whenever I see them, I just see His face in theirs and His spirit is so overwhelming. I look at people like that who are so overcome by His Spirit that I just can't help but want it!
So I told God that I wanted that.
"God, I just want to be close to you-- As close as I can get.
And I've made up my mind. SO.
What's it gonna cost me?"
Because everything comes with a cost, right?
I have to earn it somehow. I have to overcome a certain trial or a long list of tough circumstances or spend this amount of time praying about it and once I do that, then I will have more of His Spirit, a deeper sense of His presence and then be closer to Him... right?
But His words were so much sweeter than that, and the response was so much more simple..
"I've already paid that cost, Kaitlin."
Dang. And then I started to really think about it:
Jesus has already done EVERYTHING He could to get close to me--to get close to you. Everything. He held nothing back when He gave His life to restore our relationship.
Before Jesus, people had to make sacrifice after sacrifice and follow law after law to even come near His presence. Not only that, but they couldn't enter the Tabernacle or the Temple unless they underwent special and specific preparation-- Because God is holy and we are not.
But when Jesus came, His mission was to restore that relationship that God intended for us to have from the beginning-- Like the one He had with Adam and Eve before sin entered the world. To talk face to face, to walk next to each other, to laugh, to hug, and just be together. But none of that was POSSIBLE because our sinful nature separates us from God.
But Jesus gave His life so that we could have access to Him, be in relationship with Him and be wholly and completely satisfied in our new right standing with Him.
"God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we may be the righteousness of God."
-2 Cor. 2:51
He paid the price so that we could be close to Him. When we believe in what He has done, we ARE the righteousness of God. We have access to Him now-- Just as we are!
We can hear his voice, feel His smile, have His spirit inhabited within us--giving us guidance, strength and comfort.
Jesus already PAID the cost for us to be close with him. Doesn't that change everything? Because He has already done everything He could to get close to me, it is ME standing in the way of the intimacy I could have with Him.
I think the picture at the top explains it perfectly, our privilege is to enjoy His presence. Being with Him shouldn't be a duty, a chore, or something to mark off on a checklist. It's our privilege and delight to continue drawing closer and closer to Him until we take our last breath, and finally get to see Him face to face.
Until then, I think this life is a journey of getting rid of that space between us and Him and constantly seeking to be as close as we can to a God who wholly satisfies.
