The Porpoise of the Season
Once I was in a boat with some friends and saw a group of dolphins about twenty yards away. I pictured myself swimming and playing with them like I’d seen in movies and TV shows. So I dove in and swam toward the friendly dolphins, but they weren’t quite as friendly as I’d hoped. They allowed me to get close to them, but they stayed just a few feet away from me and I could never touch them. Every time I swam towards them, they would pull back to keep the distance between us. I finally realized that contact with these animals was not going to happen, so I swam back to the boat. They never ran from me so it had seemed for awhile that contact was possible, but there was always a gap between us.
For years my Christian life was like this. I knew God was near, but it seemed like I was always trying to bridge the gap. “Please God, help me love you more!” I would cry. It felt like my life was a constant attempt at getting closer to God. I sometimes wondered if He was paying attention to me. I tried to come up with ways of getting Him to answer my prayers. There were a few times when my prayers were desperate cries for help. I remember feeling like there was a gap between us. It was only a small gap, but it was a gap nonetheless. And it felt like it was my job to try to make and keep contact with Him.
This gap experience with God would finally change when the revelation of Jesus Christ became real to me. Christ revealed the goodness of the Father and how very near to me He really is. One of the names for Jesus is Emmanuel, "God With Us", and that is something we celebrate at Christmastime. God is with us! God is not far away. He doesn’t keep His distance. He is not waiting for us to get our ducks in a row. He is not waiting for us to pray correctly. He is not waiting for us to die to self. He is with us now. I only needed to know the truth that makes us free.
Jesus has bridged that gap that is only in our minds. He has shown us a Father who is wonderful and willing to do whatever it took to cause us to know Him. We and our Father are one. We will never be apart and nothing can separate us from this Love of God. The gracious message of Christmas reminds us that we are not alone, that we are loved and cared for, that we are secure and all is well in the Father’s house today. Judi and I hope that your heart and home is filled with the peace and joy that comes from knowing this good news!