Go Deep

It is worthless to live in a shallow religion. The only place worth living, in the entire universe is deep in a relationship. And I mean really deep. Shallow religion will get you nowhere.

In Hosea, it talks about how Israel had turned away from Him, and how He was missing them. And it says this. Chapter 2, verse 16-- "And it will come about in that day" declares the Lord, "that you will call me Ishi, and will no longer call me Baali."

Do we have any idea what this means? Well, the word "Ishi" means "husband", and the word "Baali" means master.

This is God talking to us. I've been trying to say this in my posts from day one on this blog, and I am even more convinced of it right now after hearing my friend read this verse today. So what does it mean?

It means that all of our shallow, irresponsible, fear laden, religious activities, and ways of approaching Him and our Christianity have to stop, because God loves us. It means this--GOD HIMSELF WANTS YOU TO STOP REFERRING TO HIM AS LORD, OR GOD, OR MASTER, and begin referring to Him as somebody that you love...and who loves you.

God never intended to have a bunch of workers. He never intended to have employees. The intent of His heart, from day one, has always been love. He has always, always, always been looking for someone to love. Just like you and me. Why not volunteer for that today? Instead of waking up and saying our prayers, for however much time we have set for ourselves to pray, why not ask Him what He's doing? Why not ask Him how He's feeling? Maybe just try to be with Him.

I present for you, the following evidence, that I think I've posted somewhere in this blog before, but if not, here goes. You and I are created in His image. (Genesis 1:26) It says so right there in the first book of the Bible, Genesis. I'm not making this up. So following that logic we can learn a tremendous amount of information about God simply by observing ourselves. And what is it that you and I want more than anything else on the face of this planet we live on? Haven't guessed yet? Well I'll tell you. It's love. You and I want love more than we want anything else on earth. We want it more than we want cars, more than we want money, more than we want houses, more than we want vacations, more than we want fame, or notoriety, or any other of a million zillion things we desire, He wants it more than He wants obedience, more than He wants hard work, more than He wants good behavior, more than He wants all of those other things that He wants.

At the end of the day, when all of your work is done, what is it that you, and I, and every other human being on the face of this planet is after? We want to go hang out and be with the people that we love. That's it!! It's that simple. What do we live for? Our time at work, or our time with our families and friends? Do we look forward to spending time with our employees and/or bosses, or with our wives, husbands, and children?? In case you don't know, I'll clue you in. We want to be with our families. What do we do when we are done with our work for the day? We go to hang out with our friends.

God is no different. Yes, there is for sure a lot of work to be done here. Yes, we need to learn to obey His voice. Yes we need to discipline ourselves, blah blah blah, etc. etc. etc. BUT WHY?? IT'S BECAUSE THE RESULT OF ALL OF THESE THINGS IS LOVE. The goal of our instruction is love out of a pure heart!!(1Timothy 1: 5-7)...from which some have swerved, and turned aside to vain discourse, willing to be teachers of the law, but not understanding the things they say or assert! This is where we are going to with all of our obedience, with all of our work, and with all of our discipline. It's all for ONE reason. Love!! That's it!! And my initial statement at the beginning of this post, to abandon shallow religion, was not a call to rebellion against Him, IT WAS A CALL TO GROW. WE CAN'T REMAIN IN SHALLOW RELIGION FOREVER. THAT'S NOT WHERE WE ARE GOING TO LIVE FOR ETERNITY. I quote First Corinthians 13 as proof. Where there are tongues, they shall cease. Where there are prophecies, they shall cease. Where there are all these things that we have been doing for so long, without knowing why, THEY SHALL CEASE. WHY? BECAUSE WHEN THE PERFECT COMES, THE IMPERFECT SHALL BE DONE AWAY WITH.

If with the tongues of men and of angels I speak, but have not love, I have become a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. And if I have prophecy, and know all the secrets, and all the knowledge, and if I have all the faith, so as to remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing. And if I give all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give up my body to be burned, and have not love, I am profited nothing.

Go for love. It is the meaning of life. Whatever it takes. When you wake up in the morning, stop thinking about how you are going to discipline yoursef, and think about asking Him how He is. Or what He's up to. The answers may really astound you and delight you! Maybe focus less on what you are going to do for Him today, and more on just spending some time with Him. Think less about how much time you are going to spend praying, and think more about how much time you are going to sit with Him and let Him love you. Why not, when you see the beautiful sunrise, tell Him how beautiful He looks??

Want to light a fire? Would you like to light the world up?? Want to change it?? Want to do all those things your pastor is constantly talking about doing? Here's a clue. People are attracted to love. The world is looking for love. Do we wonder why we can't convert anybody?? It's because we're not in love. We're trying to make more employees. He's not after employees. How do I know?? Because He says so. Because He says that one day YOU and I, will stop calling Him Baali, and start calling Him Ishi...your husband... your lover... your friend.