Originally published Wednesday, 03 June 2015.
Without Jesus I'd be like a car accident with no repair shop,
a mental-case of self-doubt,
a walking shot of vodka times twenty.
Without Jesus in me,
I would travel from place to place
as a leech seeking my next feel-good prey.
That would be me.
You know what the crazy part is? I've realized it's ok if I still leech. Jesus doesn't mind how much I leech on to him.
I can grasp on, pull out everything that IS him and still get every ounce of what I desperately need. I pull in all of his goodness to breathe out all of it wherever I go.
Jesus practically says leech off of me
and I will give you all-surpassing peace.
You will keep in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Is. 26:3
I never thought it should work that way. But, it does. It really does.
He is the rescuer, the ambulance, the paramedic who now runs to my rescue. Not from the physical issues that most likely would have plagued me, but, to the deep emotional hurts. He doesn't even bandage them - but simply touches them with his gentle hands to bloom what once was bruised.
I don't need much else besides him. He is the all-inclusive package to life.
I can seek him until I am blue in the face, and still uncover greater sustenance.
He's better than the straight shot of alcohol because his intoxication heads directly into my heart.
He works in me, through me and for me.
to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Col. 1:27
Now I have hope. What once looked like a world full of hurt, crud yet-to-come and accidents waiting to happen, now looks like a world of hope-at-bay, peace-at-work and joy-yet-to-come.
It's a mystery, but once you have Jesus in you - it all becomes clear as day.
You don't have to worry about today, because God holds tomorrow.
You don't have to fret about lost dreams, because God works beyond our visual screens.
You don't have to be anxious, because God is working through the piles of trash that seem all around you.
You don't have to feel alone, because God's presence is greater than the blue sky that covers.
You simply rest in him, knowing he is working. That is Christ in you.
A person cheating and swindling? Compassion for their needy heart.
Christ in you.
An obnoxious customer service call? Grace to the one who gets rejected all day long.
Christ in you.
Another call at church to give more money? An outpouring of money to those in need.
Christ in you.
Things you could never comprehend pouring out,
were always poured out by Jesus.
Christ in you.
I am realizing that the only requirement is a desire to keep blockages of his glory far, far away. To keep those things that trip you up distanced. That's it. It's not even so much that I have to do the hard labor, Christ in me, handles that for me, I just have to be willing to bring it to him.
To acknowledge it - you know, the opposite of deny it.
Then we can see his radiant glory shining out and when it shines it changes everything you look at. Christ in us. The power is staggering.
It's addictive. More of you Jesus, let me leech onto you.
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