Where Are You Looking for Life?
Last week we traveled to Myrtle Beach South Carolina to attend a Grace Summit hosted by Jeremiah Johnson Ministries and Grace Life Church. It was an intimate gathering with the grace of God shared so vulnerably and beautifully. There were life-giving messages (Rick gave one of the 13 total), fun fellowship and laughter, as well as Holy-Spirit prayers and encouragements. We got to spend time with our fellow grace ministers, which is always such a blessing to us and we got to meet new friends from various places throughout North America. We left very touched by the atmosphere of acceptance and love.
One of the things we most appreciate about these gatherings is how we pollinate each other. We get to hear what God is speaking to others and how He is saying similar things in different ways. It’s truly such a beautiful picture of diversity. Sometimes it is challenging, sometimes surprising, sometimes confirming, but always iron sharpening iron.
Like an orchestra, we each bring our own unique sound to the Symphony. By ourselves, we are one instrument, but together, we complement and enhance each other. For example, not everyone loves the sound of an oboe. But mixed together with the brass, strings and other woodwinds, it provides an essential part of the overall presentation. As a body, we are reminded how essential each of us are, in our uniqueness and our specific giftedness.
A question that came up during the summit was: Where in your life are you looking for LIFE outside of God? Are we looking to food, money, politics, people’s opinions, social media for our life? These things are merely a substitute. Rather than life, they provide a counterfeit, one that has no power whatsoever and causes us to continue seeking.
True LIFE is found only in God, the Creator of all things. The resurrection speaks so clearly about the ability of God’s LIFE to overcome any challenge or trouble in this world. When Jesus was hanging on the cross, He did not look like He was filled with LIFE. In fact it looked quite the opposite. But He trusted His life to His Father and ultimately the resurrection demonstrated that the Father was trustworthy and that His LIFE reigns over death. The resurrection spoke LIFE more clearly than the cross spoke Death.
In our lives, maybe there are times when it does not appear that we have the beautiful, fulfilling, and fruitful LIFE operating in our lives, but we trust our good Father with our true life. We can give up seeking for fulfillment elsewhere and trust Him to provide the LIFE we need.