Hike up that skirt and run!

You have probably heard the saying, "Actions speak louder than words." While this is very true in life, there are times we 'discount' the actions of another - especially if we don't think those actions line up with what we expected or what we believe. I think Jesus must have encountered more than one or two of such individuals in his ministry on earth - somewhat resistant to his love and hope just because his actions didn't 'line up' with what they believed would be the actions of their "Messiah" (deliverer).

Jesus said, “I am the Bread of Life. The person who aligns with me hungers no more and thirsts no more, ever. I have told you this explicitly because even though you have seen me in action, you don’t really believe me. Every person the Father gives me eventually comes running to me. And once that person is with me, I hold on and don’t let go. I came down from heaven not to follow my own whim but to accomplish the will of the One who sent me.  John 6:35 MSG

They had seen him in action - watched firsthand his healing touch transform lives and observed at close proximity his incredible knowledge of the prophesies of old. Yet, they didn't believe. I have heard some say, "If I had been alive when Jesus was walking this earth, there is no way I wouldn't have believed!" While we'd all like to believe this of ourselves, let me assure you some of us still wouldn't have changed our minds about Jesus! Why? He didn't fit the picture they had in their minds and maybe he wouldn't have fit that picture for us either.

Look at what he says next - eventually we will come running to him. Nothing really speaks louder about our actions than those that result in us making a run toward Jesus with all we have within! Nothing speaks louder about his actions than that he makes the way clear for us so we don't get tripped up along the way! He holds on and he doesn't let go! See that - listen to it - let it penetrate your heart. You are on a mission toward 'home' - when you finally make it there - wow!

We might think we need to see overwhelming evidence of him in every realm of our world before we could possibly trust him with our lives, but seeing isn't always believing! Some of us would do well to just believe and then we will begin to see what has been right there in front of us all along - his overwhelming, realer-than-real love! In Old Testament times, the 'proper' in society would run anywhere - much less into waiting arms! When Jesus says we will run to him, he isn't asking us to be 'proper' in our faith - he is asking us to abandon ourselves to him.

We might think abandon is a little over the top for us - because it means we lay down our control and let another take over. Yet, it is in abandon - in running toward him - that we find our true selves. We are not going to recognize him fully, appreciate all of his grace, or understand all of his love as long as we stand resistant to his invitation. As soon as we recognize he is discovered in abandon, we might just admit we really did not know what we were missing! Just sayin!