I'm sort of sad that March has come upon us. I'm thankful for the start of Spring, but not so much to the end of a very special "class" I've been taking for the past eight months. My Women's Bible study is coming to an end, and it's going to leave me thirsty and achy for more... I can already tell. I've mentioned before and will say it again, these women are women I want to be like someday. They are beyond the awkward phase of trying to be put together all they time. They've raised children and lovingly served their husbands and extended family. They treasure their friends, and are mean cooks. Most importantly I want to love and seek the Lord like these women and pray for every person I love the way they so tenderly and desperately do. More than just fellowship, this study has helped the bible become a living book for me. I did not understand Paul and his rambling affectionate letters to the churches he had helped plant, but now I understand him and how desperately he loved the Lord and wanted to nurture others in their relationship with Jesus. Instead of not understanding him, I hope to identify with him more. If you don't read scripture or pray with anyone aside from when you read or pray together corporately at church consider trying it out. It has changed me. I find that I can no longer simply read scripture like it's flat history. I pray and critically think about the people and events that I read about. I look at the contexts and try to comprehend what they may have been thinking or feeling, and what the Lord is revealing about Himself to them. My hope is He will reveal to me how I can apply those things to my life. My girlfriend and I were discussing Lot's wife turning into salt and I couldn't help but joke that if I had been running beside of that woman I totally would have breathlessly shouted, "Did y'all see that!!!??" My friend said she would have yelled back, "Look forward and keep running crazy!"
A serious example, we recently studied the last chapter in the Gospel of John about the disciples having breakfast with the Lord by the sea. This is after Jesus' resurrection and the disciples had been cooped up in a room fearing that they would be persecuted by the Jews. The Apostle Peter announces that he is going fishing and everyone wants to go with. I picture a bunch of men like my family, minus the camo, out fishing together in a boat. Shortly before this trip Jesus had been put to death, rose from the dead, and had been seen by the disciples at various times. There probably wasn't a lot of talking going on out on that boat but there was likely a lot of thinking as those men worked the nets together. They weren't catching anything so they were probably pretty grumpy. Early in the morning John tells Peter that Jesus is on the shore calling to them where to cast the nets to actually catch some fish. When Peter heard this he put on his outer cloak, jumped overboard, and swam for shore. Dr. Lanier described how men would often work in their "under shirts" but it was considered improper to be out in public without an outer cloak which was heavy and probably made from wool. Peter swam to shore dragging an anchor of cloth behind him when he could have just waited until the boat got close by and jumped out like the rest of the disciples. As I sat there and listened it was almost as if I were in a trance. I thought about how it felt when my boo came back from being in Africa for two years. I didn't wait for her car to stop in the cul de sac before I was outside, barefoot in December, wanting to put my arms around her. The Bible doesn't literally say what made Peter jump overboard but I could almost sense how Peter's heartbeat sped up, and he was so overcome with excitement, joy, love, maybe even some anxiety that he just couldn't wait to get to shore to embrace his best friend, his Savior, and Lord. I can imagine him thrashing through the water in that cloak and coming up soaking wet but smiling as he walked up the beach to Jesus.
The image makes my heartbeat go up in anticipation. I cannot fathom how exciting and joyous it will be to see my Jesus standing on the shore waiting for me. I can only imagine rushing across the sea of glass into His arms.
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