So, that’s the SLOP…if anything, it’s just praying to God,
talking and listening to God and focusing on God. Sort of thin on details, you say? I don’t disagree, but I’ve tried thick plans
that didn’t work, so if simple works, all the better. Like the dude on a diet, I’m just looking for
results and I'm hoping SLOP will help me.
I think this has possibilities and I definitely think it’s
worth a try. But it’s important that it’s
got God's Seal of Approval.
If this plan is of God, there are a couple of tests it needs
to pass. First, any plan that’s of God
needs to give Him all the credit and all the glory. And I think this does. This plan is initiated by God in sending
Jesus to the cross, initiated by his invitation to us to follow Him, and
accomplished with His power, not mine.
If this accomplishes a better closeness to God, it’s All Him, and not
me. That’s important.
He initiates. He
draws me closer. It’s all Him.
But here’s the part that I think is really cool.
Have you ever given a gift to someone that’s beyond
excellent, a gift which cost you dearly, yet you’re so happy to give it and
you’re Really Genuinely Excited for the recipient to open it and use it or wear
it? The idea here is that you’re excited
and you can’t wait for the recipient to accept it and put it to use. It’s that good.
Now, imagine God giving us Jesus…a gift which cost him
dearly…a gift of infinite, humungous, undefinable proportions…a gift so tall
and deep and wide and amazing it can’t be measured. Here’s my point. I believe this gift from God is so awesome,
so huge, so expensive and demonstrates His all-out crazy-amazing love for us
that He is Amazingly Absolutely Pumped for us to open his gift of Jesus, and
put it on and wear it. Not pumped just
for one day or a few days…but excited for every second we share with him every
day.
In thinking this through, I’m convinced, God is jazzed,
primed, juiced, and electrically charged to Be With Us Every Moment. And this is a big change of heart for me. Previously I saw God as accepting, certainly,
and hanging with me, yes, but sort of like He’s in the room, reading a book in
the corner, while I’m playing on the floor.
In other words, He’s here, he’s keeping an eye on me, but He’s sort of
not that into it.
I don’t believe that at all now. I believe that He has the capacity to not
only be paying complete and total attention to every one of us every moment,
but that He is completely excited, energized, electrified, eager, thrilled,
animated, amped, jazzed, pumped, etc., etc., etc., in every moment of my life
in every situation, watching me put on Jesus and encouraging me forward, just
like the dad encouraging his child across the kitchen floor.
Maybe when I look at Him, that’s where the power comes
from? If so, I’m on His power supply and
not mine and that’s a relief because I Ain’t Got No Power. Again, look at the title of the blog. Spiritual Loser. Whatever I’ve been doing before hasn’t been
working.
So when I’m looking him in His face, day after day, time
after time, He is genuinely excited, energetic,
enthusiastic, engaged, eager, and ready to go, as we make our way through the
day together. He’s excited for me when I
wake up. He’s pumped as I stumble to the
bathroom. He’s amped as I fix
lunch. He’s enthused to drive in to work
with me, all the while encouraging me closer to Him.
He’s engaged and passionate to go through work with me…and
all day long. He’s waiting for me to
look to Him, to walk to Him. Can this be
true? I think so. I think it’s worth a
run to see if it’s right.
So what am I going to do to respond? I’m going to pray that He fills me up with
faith and His Spirit as often as I can.
I’m going to converse with him and listen and share with him as much as
I can. And I’m going to imagine his face,
his excited, enthusiastic, encouraging face and look into it as often as I can
and let it draw me to Him as he says “Follow Me” and see what difference, if
any, that makes in my life.
Will it work? Hope
so. Details coming soon.
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