Listen! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and have dinner with him, and he with Me. ~Revelation 3:20
Jesus is seeking you. He wants to know you and to be the very most important thing in your life. The outside world sees Christianity as rigid - as a list of don'ts, can'ts, and shouldn'ts. C.S. Lewis writes in Mere Christianity:There is a story about a schoolboy who was asked what he thought God was like. He replied that, as far as he could tell God was 'the sort of person that was always snooping around to see if anyone is enjoying himself and then trying to stop it.'
This sort of sums up the preconceived notion of Christianity. There is good news though, and lots of it. God loves you and wants a relationship with you so much that He sent His only begotten son, Jesus, to redeem all of mankind from our squalor, selfishness, and ignorance. Jesus loved us so much that He was willing to come to earth and sacrifice His life in one of the most humiliating and painful forms of execution known in order to take the price of our sins onto Himself. This, however, still isn't the best of the good news.
There are several stories in the Bible that tell us of regular people that had died but had been raised back to life. These people, however, still had to face mortality. Sometimes I'm not even sure that it was a kindness that they had to die twice. Jesus, on the other hand, returned to life never to face death again. He is still alive today and He has forever defeated that ugly banner of our shame - death. Not only this, but we have been promised as everlasting life as well - either with Jesus, if you allow yourself to be found by Him or without, if that is what you choose.
Jesus is seeking you. Reading this now is one way He is calling you. Just stop for a moment and open yourself to the possibility that the Bible really is true. What would that mean to you? I promise that it does not mean you have to embrace an ancient checklist of do's and don'ts. It does not mean that God isn't happy until you are miserable. There are times as a Christian that you grit your teeth and practice humble obedience and do something that you don't want to do, but more usually the things you sacrifice are given happily out of love. If you read the Bible you learn how God wants us to behave and it brings out the best in you to follow that code of behavior. It is not weak wills nor fear of death that brings people to accept Christ. How much easier do you suppose it is to make your choices based on social norms and to always take the best care of yourself?
The hope of Heaven doesn't rescue us from death, but it definitely puts a new light on it. It is impossible to know the absolute reality of Heaven, but I can believe it will be unimaginably awesome. As a person who endured more trials than most wrote: "For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison" ~2 Corinthians 4:16
You are loved by a God that will never give up on you. It is never too late to seek Him and there is no sin in your past or present that is too big for Jesus to accept on your behalf. God is calling you right now to think, question, and search for the only everlasting source of joy -Himself.
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