Picture this.
You’re walking down a sidewalk, lost in your thoughts, confusion, hurt, stress, anxieties, and more when you cross paths with somebody with eyes filled with hope. You’ve met him many times before but usually you look away as soon as you see his face. This time, the eye contact stops you in your path and for some reason you can’t take your eyes off of the hope that he holds.
Your cares and anxieties disappear instantly and you stand in wonder.
With intentionality and full knowingness of what you’re going through, He stops, grabs a hold of your hands, and continues to hold your gaze.
He calls you by your name and says “I know you’re hurt, I understand how hard it is, I’ve been walking by your side this whole time and I love you. I actually desire to hold you within my arms and embrace you with my comfort and protection. All you need to do is look at me.” You recognize his voice, it’s filled with a pleading desire for your gaze… but why?
Within this moment, you feel the love he has for you, you feel more known than ever, but you’re confused.
You stare at this man thinking, “How can someone love me when they’ve walked by me forever and they know all the bad that I’ve done? There’s no way I can be worthy of this love. I’m not good enough and I haven’t done anything to deserve it.”
Without saying any of these words aloud, the Man, still holding your hands, expresses what he see’s when he looks at you. “You are purity. You are royalty. You’re dressed in white. I see beauty, sincerity, a careful spirit, and someone of intentionality in friendship. Your heart is filled with the fullness of life. I want to give you hope, true joy that doesn’t die when life gets hard, love, and eternal life with me. Just allow me to walk in front of you, in your sight this time rather than behind you and you will have all of these things.”
Through this encounter you feel the love of a Father that you haven’t ever felt before, so in your desperation and faith of a child, you say yes.
This time, you continue your walk but the Man is in your line of sight.
You still have the hurt, the stress, the anxieties, but it’s all okay… your not confused or lost anymore, and you feel an indescribable inner peace and joy.You feel loved and understood. You also don’t have to stay stuck in your own box anymore. You always have a friend there who you can speak to. Not only can you speak this friend, but they listen. They respond. Their responses aren’t degrading, they’re not harsh, and they’re not judging or passive. They’re gentle. Even when you mess up, they approach you with open arms, a shoulder to cry on, and words of wisdom and hope. Sometimes you don’t even have to talk, you can just sit with them in silence and they will shower their love, comfort, and embrace onto you.
Now, I would say “The End”, but I can’t when there is no end to this story…
And what if I told you that this same man walks by your side every second of every day, he looks at you with the same eyes of hope, he loves you and doesn’t see your flaws, he only see’s your beauty, he wants to give you wisdom and understanding, correction through gentleness, and eternal life with him by your side. He desires to be your friend and dance with you for all days of eternity. All you need to do is allow him into your walk. His name is Jesus. You might’ve guessed that already, but I still had to say it just in case.
That’s all. Rest on this thought, insert yourself in the story.
WHAT SCRIPTURE SAYS…
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20
