Most, if not all of us, who discover the message of God’s love and grace initially fall in love with the message more than we fall in love with Him. After all, when in bondage to sin and/or religion, the message gives intoxicating hope that we can be free. We are filled with excitement and anticipation.
We have to have more!
Falling in love with the message is not in itself a bad thing. The gospel is “good news”. Yet, if we don’t allow the message to lead us into intimacy with God, it can become ‘just another message’. We are not simply called to know about God, we are invited and called to know God. When the message of love is more valuable than relationship with God, we usually become overbearing with the message; shoving it down people’s throats, correcting all who don’t see it our way (in love of course). Like parents trying to help their children, “This is good for you, now eat it”.
The problem is: Simply having the right message is not enough.
Somewhere, in the process (sometimes months later, sometimes years), we discover that we have a new message but the same old problems. Leading us to ask:
What’s wrong with me?
And/or: What’s wrong with the message?
And/or: What’s wrong with my pastor?
Finally: What’s wrong with God? How could He let me down? Why is this message not working for me?
When getting to this point, some walk away from the message, the church, and God all together. Others find a new message and a new church. Some seek out a new “extreme” that either creates another short term high or allows them to justify their lack of peace and character.
It has always been fascinating to me how when Mary was setting at the feet of Jesus, Martha did not express her disappointment for Mary, but for Jesus. She evidently thought Jesus should have corrected Mary without her input. After all, didn’t Jesus notice her sacrifice and hard work? "Master, don't you care that my sister has abandoned the kitchen to me? Tell her to lend me a hand." (Luke Message)
Martha may have been more shocked and offended when Jesus responded with: "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her." Luke 10:41-42 NKJV If Mary was only hearing a message, she might have been better off in the kitchen. The Message Bible, however, says that Mary was hanging on to every word. Mary wasn’t just getting a message. She was experiencing the presence and message of Jesus.
The message of God’s love and grace is incredibly important and enlightening. We need to hear it often. It is the message we need to share with the world. However, any time the message replaces relationship, we are on the trail to disappointment. Instead of life and peace, we enter into confusion. On the contrary, when we respond to the message of love by coming to Him and getting to know Him, we begin to experience the message. The message becomes part of our experience instead of another theory.
When we experience who He is everything changes! Our prayer life, scripture reading, worship, and meditation begins to change. We no longer do these actions to please Him or to show others how spiritual we are. We now pray and worship because we have discovered God is Good. We find ourselves meditating on His goodness. We read the word to discover and reinforce to our heart and mind, the love and goodness of God. 1 Peter 2:2-3 tells us that growth comes when “indeed you have tasted (experienced) that the Lord is gracious.” Leading us to realize, we now don't just have a message, but so much more! It is now a message we are experiencing and sharing with others because of our friendship and deep intimacy with God.
