Monday, March 19, 2012

Thriving Life and Burning Wedding Gown

Sooooo... There's this thing called life. And I've been thinking about how precious it is. Now, if you know anything about me, you know how passionate I am about living; thriving. Not merely surviving. And really, not even just thriving...I mean, like, chasing the clouds as they pass by. Reaching for the stars, even though you know they're millions of miles away. But it's more than that. It's streching out my hand, reaching for the glory of God. Wanting to feel, taste and touch the glory. Not to be a god myself, but to know the One I love. To KNOW Him. It's entering a room full of people and walking up to my friend, being the sweetest friend I can be--leting him know I'll be there, no matter what others think. It's praying unashamedly out loud for a brother who is in sin and the prayer being so full of love that it pulls them down to the altar. It's this kind of reckless, fearless love that is so unafraid to share Jesus with anyone, because He is everything to me, and I cannot live without Him. The kind of faith that makes a willing martyr out of a young girl; this strength that allows her to walk down the street to her death at the stake in a white wedding gown, with blood streaming down the front after having her tongue plucked out from the roots. They didn't like hearing her tell people about Jesus. They came to burn her to death, and asked why she dressed so splendindly. She answered that she was going to meet her Groom in Heaven that day. So they took her voice. She pointed to the sky as she was led away.


I want that. See, I don't love Jesus as much as I could. I want to thrive and push past the choking thorns in the ground I'm growing in. To bloom where I'm planted with such force and vibe, though I may be just a simple little sprout. A sapling springing forth with unquenchable power. I don't have to be a martyr, just a faithful Christian. Passionate and determined to be invincible, til He has finished His purpose in me.

She did burn that day, in red and white with glowing flames, smoke ascending. But I don't believe it was the torches that set her aflame. I believe she went peacefully, and ready. Maybe even excited! It was the door to eternity with Jesus, so she went joyfully, though tears may have stung her eyes. Her heart burned with the fire of the Holy Ghost. That was the smoke which enveloped her, taking her home. This is thriving; this is life.

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." ~Romans 12:1-2

A life of sacrifice, holiness, service. In Christ, it is fulness, freedom, and ultimate victory. The fulness of Him that filleth all in all. ~Ephesians 1:23