It's now 4:00 AM on a Sunday morning. I've already been up for a couple of hours. It wasn't what I wanted, but the dog had other ideas. I couldn't go back to sleep, so I started reading and praying through a few Psalms. The Lord was kind and met with me this morning, stirring my heart to share a few thoughts.
The closer He draws us to Himself, the simpler everything gets. The highest ambition a person can have is this: to be carried away in His dreams, to desire the fulfillment of His dreams more than anything. I want us all to lose ourselves in His dreams!
He looks at the entire span of our lives, from the moment of conception through the timeless extension of eternity. He understands, far better than we do, the stuff that has shaped us and the stuff that presently operates within us. He knows what's wrong, and face it, anything and everything that's less than what He wants is wrong. He knows how to transform all of it and has firm plans to do so. Colossians 1:20 tells us that the Father, through Jesus, is reconciling His creation back to Himself.
His plans don't stop there. He dreams about -- craves, even -- the delight and joy that will come when we are fully conformed to the image of His Son. He dreams about -- craves, even -- the day when He can lavish the fullness of His love upon us. I don't know how else to say it. He greatly looks forward to indulging Himself in those He redeems and transforms, and the more we are transformed, the more He can indulge Himself.
Being Born-Again, getting Saved, being forgiven and getting adopted into His family, trusting in what Jesus the Messiah and the Anointed One has done and is doing for us...that's just the entrance into an eternal journey with our loving King and Lord. There's a lot of things and stuff about which a man can be ambitious. But the ultimate ambition and desire a person can have, bar-none, is to see the Father/Son/Holy Spirit's dreams fulfilled, just as Jesus delighted in seeing the Father's dreams fulfilled.
He has thought it all through. He knows exactly what He wants, and that's very good for you and for me. I want to love Him and lose myself in seeing Him happy, joyous, and comforted. Isn't that what He hoped for when He first thought of creating me? And when that happens -- and I trust that it will, because He has said that He will complete the good work He has begun in me (Philippians 1:6) -- He will be free to indulge Himself in loving on me. The human image that comes to mind is of a Grand Dad wrestling with his grandchild, or of a man rolling around on the floor with his new puppy, both of them lost in the delight of each other's company. The real thing will be far better than the best I can imagine.
I'm greatly looking forward to all of us -- you, me, all of the redeemed, and our incredibly loving God -- getting totally wrapped up in the delight of each other's company. Maybe I'm not saying that well, maybe I'm leaving too much out, but I definitely don't think I'm overstating it. In fact, I believe I'm understating it. How does Scripture put it?
But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9).
Wow. Jesus also reflected the truth of what we're talking about here. He was totally sold out to the Ultimate Ambition.
Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.” As He spoke these words, many believed in Him. (John 8:28-30).
"...I always do those things that please Him..." That's another big Wow, and that's the kind of person that you and I and every other Believer should desire to become.
That brings up another thought. No one's salvation depends on this next bit of Bible interpretation, but this is how I see it and read it. You don't have to agree with me, though many Bible scholars see these Scriptures the same way. The passages are from Ezekiel 28:11-17 and Isaiah 14:14-18. The fallen angel that most of us refer to as Lucifer or Satan, before he rebelled and became Satan, was a beautiful and incredibly high-ranking angel of God who became a victim of his own pride.
I take it maybe a step or two further, and I'll share with you how I imagine it happened. I think Lucifer was jealous of the pre-incarnate Word (Jesus Himself) and wanted to rule this creation in Jesus' place. There was no rivalry on Jesus' side, but Lucifer was eaten up with it. Lucifer's pride did him in, leading him to rebel against God. But there was something wrong deeper inside of him that allowed the pride and jealousy to take hold. His main failure was this: Lucifer didn't love the Lord God Almighty and didn't really care about the Creator's heart. Lucifer was self-centered, not God-centered. His chief ambition and delight was not to see his Creator's dreams fulfilled and his Creator's heart made happy. If Lucifer had truly loved his Creator, there would have been no room in his heart for pride, rivalry, and rebellion.
Hmmm. Pride, rivalry, and rebellion against God. Sounds a lot like fallen humanity, doesn't it? I can sure see a lot of the fallen me in that description. So, come on, Lord! Change me! Change me faster, cut deeper! Keep going! Don't stop! Don't let me stop you!
Oh Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, let me become a man who loves You with all of his heart, soul, mind, and strength. Let my ultimate ambition and desire be to see Your dreams fulfilled, your Heart made happy. Let me be the kind of man that You can wrestle on the floor with, each of us lost in the delight of the other's company. Please, I want to be that kind of man.
The closer He draws us to Himself, the simpler everything gets. The highest ambition a person can have is this: to be carried away in His dreams, to desire the fulfillment of His dreams more than anything. I want us all to lose ourselves in His dreams!
He looks at the entire span of our lives, from the moment of conception through the timeless extension of eternity. He understands, far better than we do, the stuff that has shaped us and the stuff that presently operates within us. He knows what's wrong, and face it, anything and everything that's less than what He wants is wrong. He knows how to transform all of it and has firm plans to do so. Colossians 1:20 tells us that the Father, through Jesus, is reconciling His creation back to Himself.
His plans don't stop there. He dreams about -- craves, even -- the delight and joy that will come when we are fully conformed to the image of His Son. He dreams about -- craves, even -- the day when He can lavish the fullness of His love upon us. I don't know how else to say it. He greatly looks forward to indulging Himself in those He redeems and transforms, and the more we are transformed, the more He can indulge Himself.
Being Born-Again, getting Saved, being forgiven and getting adopted into His family, trusting in what Jesus the Messiah and the Anointed One has done and is doing for us...that's just the entrance into an eternal journey with our loving King and Lord. There's a lot of things and stuff about which a man can be ambitious. But the ultimate ambition and desire a person can have, bar-none, is to see the Father/Son/Holy Spirit's dreams fulfilled, just as Jesus delighted in seeing the Father's dreams fulfilled.
He has thought it all through. He knows exactly what He wants, and that's very good for you and for me. I want to love Him and lose myself in seeing Him happy, joyous, and comforted. Isn't that what He hoped for when He first thought of creating me? And when that happens -- and I trust that it will, because He has said that He will complete the good work He has begun in me (Philippians 1:6) -- He will be free to indulge Himself in loving on me. The human image that comes to mind is of a Grand Dad wrestling with his grandchild, or of a man rolling around on the floor with his new puppy, both of them lost in the delight of each other's company. The real thing will be far better than the best I can imagine.
I'm greatly looking forward to all of us -- you, me, all of the redeemed, and our incredibly loving God -- getting totally wrapped up in the delight of each other's company. Maybe I'm not saying that well, maybe I'm leaving too much out, but I definitely don't think I'm overstating it. In fact, I believe I'm understating it. How does Scripture put it?
But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9).
Wow. Jesus also reflected the truth of what we're talking about here. He was totally sold out to the Ultimate Ambition.
Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.” As He spoke these words, many believed in Him. (John 8:28-30).
"...I always do those things that please Him..." That's another big Wow, and that's the kind of person that you and I and every other Believer should desire to become.
That brings up another thought. No one's salvation depends on this next bit of Bible interpretation, but this is how I see it and read it. You don't have to agree with me, though many Bible scholars see these Scriptures the same way. The passages are from Ezekiel 28:11-17 and Isaiah 14:14-18. The fallen angel that most of us refer to as Lucifer or Satan, before he rebelled and became Satan, was a beautiful and incredibly high-ranking angel of God who became a victim of his own pride.
I take it maybe a step or two further, and I'll share with you how I imagine it happened. I think Lucifer was jealous of the pre-incarnate Word (Jesus Himself) and wanted to rule this creation in Jesus' place. There was no rivalry on Jesus' side, but Lucifer was eaten up with it. Lucifer's pride did him in, leading him to rebel against God. But there was something wrong deeper inside of him that allowed the pride and jealousy to take hold. His main failure was this: Lucifer didn't love the Lord God Almighty and didn't really care about the Creator's heart. Lucifer was self-centered, not God-centered. His chief ambition and delight was not to see his Creator's dreams fulfilled and his Creator's heart made happy. If Lucifer had truly loved his Creator, there would have been no room in his heart for pride, rivalry, and rebellion.
Hmmm. Pride, rivalry, and rebellion against God. Sounds a lot like fallen humanity, doesn't it? I can sure see a lot of the fallen me in that description. So, come on, Lord! Change me! Change me faster, cut deeper! Keep going! Don't stop! Don't let me stop you!
Oh Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, let me become a man who loves You with all of his heart, soul, mind, and strength. Let my ultimate ambition and desire be to see Your dreams fulfilled, your Heart made happy. Let me be the kind of man that You can wrestle on the floor with, each of us lost in the delight of the other's company. Please, I want to be that kind of man.
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