Jesus, The Object

Sweet friends, there are rarely easy or satisfying answers to all the “Why’s?” in this life. (Frustratingly, enough!) And it really seems that no matter how well we may think we understand people or know the Bible or Jesus, we’re often left shocked, surprised, or simply sitting in silence with all these unanswered questions. And so, for me, this is when the Object of my faith needs to be the most important thing.

You see, people will always disappoint us. If not currently, they will eventually. Same with current passions, be they hobbies or work or you name it (if you can even speak it out loud?!)

Experiences are fleeting and momentary in the grand scheme and even the best ones usually leave you longing for more. Good things are not the point in themselves, anyway. They simply point us to The Best Thing. Because as wonderful and important as all these things can be, none are the point and purpose of life.

Nope. Not even a little.

The Object of our faith is.

Jesus Is

Sooooo, when I begin to grasp and flail about and seek out to grab something I truly feel I require but don’t currently have, or believe I have, this Object of my faith remains firm in His goodness, waiting in love, with open arms and a faithful ear.

When I begin to ask, “Why, though??” His answer is, “I will work all things out work for your good, because you are part of my purpose.” When I begin to ask, “But, for how long?!” He replies, “I came to give you an abundant life, therefore you will soon enough see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”

And when I cry out, “I just don’t want to do this anymore!” He weeps, too, then gently cups my face in His loving, yet invisible hands, and says, “I drank the full cup of our Father’s wrath so you wouldn’t have to. You may not understand what I am doing now, but one day you will, even if that one day is not until Eternity. For now though, know this: I will never leave you nor forsake you. Believe that I will strengthen you, am before and behind you, and will absolutely finish the work I began in you. Trust that I have numbered all the hairs on your head, that nothing touches you that hasn’t passed through My hands, and that My ways are never your ways. Have faith that though you can’t see my plan or even think you can ever like it, I have never made a mistake, and certainly didn’t when I created you, so the purpose in all of it is good and will bring about MY glory in the end. And if you still find that you can’t trust My plan, trust My heart, which is always for you and never against. The same heart that took a beating for you and then altogether stopped beating for you.”

See Friends, oftentimes I long for God to remove the pain and hard things, simply because… well, they suck! (Sorry to offend.) However, the hard truth I must learn to accept is that my happiness and comfort will never be God’s ultimate goal. My holiness is. Molding me to look more and more like the Object of my faith and growing me into one who has complete dependence upon Him, is His goal.

And I have to believe this truth or I couldn’t get through this – often amazing – though just as often – hard, unpredictable, and yes, even often downright sucky thing we all call living! Because all the questions and brokenness and pain in our lives can seem, well… just unfair, or sadly, sometimes make everything seem pointless.

And when this downward spiraling thought process takes hold of me, I know the true issue is with me. When I’m feeling like life doesn’t make sense, I can guarantee it’s because my focus has come off the Object of my faith and been placed elsewhere.

And it’s at this point where I have a choice to make. I can stay spiraling in a Woe-Is-Me, Life-Just-Sucks vacuum or I can pray something like this, “Jesus, reorient my vision to your vision. Give me your mind and your eyes. Your heart. Allow me to see what you see, so I can see that what doesn’t make sense to me now makes perfect sense to you and will leave, not only you glorified, but me sanctified and eventually looking more like You than I do today. I need you to do in me… in my heart… what I’m incapable of doing. And I will wait, expectantly, for you to do it.”

And that, my friends, is a win-win, plus the whole and best purpose of this wild and mysterious thing we call life. And that’s what the Object of my faith promises we get when we put our faith in Him… A rest and a renewing strength and a redeemed and trusting life found in Him and then, everyday, even more and more of Him.

Jesus, The Object.

The Only One.

P.S. Featured photo cred to my brother-in-law, Steve Scruggs 🙂