Courage

Have you ever considered that God has courage? And if so, what does that look like? Is it something we can relate to and have a hope of obtaining?

Listening to the message at my church yesterday there was a side note that triggered some “things that make you go Hmmmm…” Or at least ones that make ME go Hmmmm and got my mind working…… To be clear, as a side note, this was not the main thrust of the message. It just got my mind and thoughts looking at Christ through a different perspective.

I have always had a view of Christ as strong and resolute. A man of conviction and purpose, able to withstand whatever is against him and the forces arrayed against him. Strength in battle, or strength against opposition, or strength against Satan, strength against the pain and anguish of carrying the cross and then being hung on it for me……. These have never been in question for me.

But those examples of strength and courage make him seem so distant from my daily life. They seem to me to be an image of a man out there in the heavens far far away, and portray an ideal I struggle to relate to and impossible to obtain. More importantly, that portrayal of Him has left me with the sense that He is not able to relate to me and my weakness. They make my Lord seem more like a super hero and mythical figure that would look down on me with pity and disappointment. To quote Sheldon “Puny Humans”.

Yet, as the Lord continues to work on me, my Lord in my minds eye has been changing. As I continue to study His life and teaching, I see an undercurrent and presupposition woven throughout the Bible of His desire for personal relationships with the people He created. I don’t believe the Bible was intended to be a list of “do’s and don’t’s”, its intent is a lifeline and rescue guide to those who chose to grab hold of it. It is loving mentorship containing wisdom and guidance on how to be rescued and “do life” from the smartest and most loving Man ever.

As I dig into the Word and look at the big picture and consistent characteristics of God, it seems to me that from start to end the Bible consistently shows His love for us and his desire for a relationship with us. While some focus on characteristics of God’s holiness and power (which are true and critical parts of who He is), it seems that often there is a loss of the depth of His desire for an authentic personal relationship individually with each of us and how that is the purpose for which we were created.

Yet, He does not force a relationship on us. We are free to reject Him. And concept of relational rejection is a new thought or view of God that I had not considered. That He has to have courage to continue to reach out with love individually to each of us, and consistently be rejected by so many. I have had a hard enough time being rejected by a couple people in my years of life, I cannot fathom the pain that the Lord goes through being rejected daily by so many, whom He loves deeply.

This takes a level and expression of courage that I never recognized before. It also paints a picture of a Lord who can understand my heart too….. Someone who can relate and feel my heart when it is crushed by rejection in any of its various forms.

I think this brings a new meaning or better yet, new depth to John 16:33, where I believe and offer for consideration that “Take Heart” is a synonym for Courage.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” ~ John 16:33

~B