Actually, I was using a hoe to scrape up damp, compacted layers of leaves from the surface of the ground so that we could put them in piles and relocate those piles to another pile in a distant corner of the yard.
It’s mundane work like this that typically becomes prime breeding ground for revelation. As my mind drifted toward thoughts that lived beyond the shallow end, I pictured myself working alongside Jesus Himself, hoeing away at the ground. I wondered, if I could have a conversation with Him right now, in person, what would I want to talk about?
My memory hearkened back to a certain Panera date with Him several months before. As I camped out at one of those four-person tables near the window, reading my Bible and sipping hazelnut coffee, I was captivated by John 14:17 – “But you know [the Spirit of truth], for he lives with you and will be in you.” I sat, paralyzed by epiphany, wondering what it would be like to actually live in that truth all the time. What if I really believed that the Holy Spirit, the presence of Jesus, lived with me and in me at every moment? What would it be like to sit across the table from Him now, enjoying the liquid byproduct of what must be His favorite plant as well, chatting about life?
“Alright, Jesus, let's get in line and order our sandwiches… You want a Bacon Turkey Bravo?”
“Someone needs a ride to church today? Jesus and I’ve got that.”
And what would it be like if someone came up to our table and just ripped into me, tearing me up and down about something that may or may not have been true, and would I care about it at all if Jesus were sitting right there with me? Would that person’s opinion of my value even matter to me if I had the Lord sitting right there, pouring His love and grace and affirmation and life into my soul?
There have been a lot of spiritual conversations, full of spiritual questions, floating around the mission house here lately. The questions have been eye-opening and faith-wrenching, but – Lord willing – fruitful. Questions about prayer, healing, how God speaks and how and why He does or doesn’t answer… Good, challenging things. Things I’ve been wrestling with, knowing I will come out blessed.
But, as I thought about Jesus and I spending our quality time with a hoe, I knew that asking Him those questions wouldn’t be important to me. In fact, I don't think I would want to say much at all. I would just soak it all in. Enjoy the mundane labor of the day-to-day with Him. Ask Him, “So, what do you think about everything? Romania, the world, the questions we spend so much time fretting about… I don’t know, everything?”
And I would just want to be like Mary, sitting at His feet, listening to Him talk for hours, absorbing as much Truth as I could possibly hold… then following Him around like a toddler, desiring only to be around Him, resting in the confidence that He didn’t think I was obnoxious. Knowing that He was enjoying that time just as much as I was.
No comments:
Post a Comment