the THEN WHAT?

I always say that I'm going to keep things nice and simple, short and sweet. I really don't think this will be much of anything, but we'll see.

I've been thinking two different thought patterns lately, both of which end at the same conclusion.

First off, this is the first time in my entire life that I have had a steady relationship with God. My definition of steady relationship with God is a relationship that is void of addictive sin that causes my spiritual life and therefore, my entire life for that matter, to feel as if it's a rollercoaster. This is not to say I do not have sin in my life- I've got plenty of it and always will. I'm just saying that I've never lived free of sin, free of the vicious cycles of sin, for this long and this consistently before. It's a good thing and a bad thing. Good for obvious reasons. But bad, because this opens me up to living a lukewarm spiritual life. At least when I was screwing up all the time, I was deeply sorry and propelled myself full force right back into God's arms every time I messed up. It's comparable to the woman with the oil at Jesus feet and other stories like it... the ones closest to Him, the ones most passionate, tend to be the ones who need His grace the most. This is not to say that I'm not in great need of His grace, but it is to say that I am in immediate danger of growing callous to my own needs, and therefore, growing lukewarm and cold in my daily spiritual walk. (I will add more to this in a few moments)

Secondly, I've been thinking about our reasoning for telling people about Jesus. Yes, we want them to be saved. Yes, we were commissioned to do so as believers. There are tons of reasons out there. But aside from those, why? What is it that we are wanting them to experience? There is an initial moment of salvation, yes. But after that, THEN WHAT? What happens next? What is it that we are so adament to share with other people? (stay tuned)

Basically, I guess I'm getting at.... Why did Christ send His Son? Well, He sent Him to make us holy and to bring us back to Him. Ok, yes, that is true. But then what? Why does He want us with Him? What Im saying is- what is it that happens after we're back with God again? Whether it is now or in Heaven?

God created us for Him and His glory. But He also loved us enough that He gave us an entire world of experiences. He wants to see us happy just like we want to see our loved ones happy. God is just as interested in our daily experiences as He is everything else.

I hope you still take my seriously after I share the next thought or two with you:

God is in the moments that I get in my car to commute to Tampa each day. It's sunny. I'm freshly showered. My hair is blowing and the disco ball on my rearview mirror sends all sorts of splinters of light around my car. My music is streaming and the bass is going strong. Lately, I hear the same song every single day... and the first line is this, "I wake up in the morning feeling like P-diddy." Now, I don't really stand beside the meaning of this song, but I feel God's presence with me as I basically am waking up to another beautiful day that only HE can provide me with. I feel Him chuckling over me as I mouth the beginning line to this song every morning in the privacy that only He gets to share with me.

Yes, it may sound silly to you. But, God is everywhere. He is dying to experience life with us in the smallest -and largest- of ways... but sometimes we are so caught up in more "important" things that we don't realize it.

For example, yes, we are commissioned to share Jesus with everyone, everywhere. And there are tons of people who build their lives around this and that's great and really important. But they are so focused on the PRODUCT (more people accepting Christ) that they miss out on what God is extremely interested in (the PROCESS).

Donald Miller summed up the book of Ecclesiastes something like this- God is telling us to write a great story, take some loved ones along, and allow Him to help us write it. God is the CREATOR of the definition of EXPERIENCE. He didn't give us tastebuds or a sense of smell or eyesight for just any old reason. He did it because He loves us and He wants to give us pleasure.

In relation to my first comment on my own current spiritual standings... I've realized that God is ready to take us deeper at all times. Just because things are steady and good right now doesn't mean I've "arrived." I don't want to settle for good. I want the best. I want to know what my life would look like if I gave it my absolute all. I want to know what it would look like if I gave my absolute all to CHRIST and allowed Him to mold me accordingly.

I challenge you to seek out God tomorrow. How is He showing up in your everyday life? Share it with someone else. Challenge someone else to get involved in the process. Question and examine yourself. Make sure you are giving every ounce you can to Him. Allow Him all the control you are aware you have and see where He takes you. I guarantee you'll have no other choice but to be purely satisfied on Him alone... and I'm pretty sure there's no better thing that could possibly happen.