11/26/2019
A poem by Jon Elvrum It is You whom I see pinned, nailed to the cross dying there for me even as He is dying there for you. It is exactly this moment that has called out to me these more than twenty centuries later. See now, the moment when the sky grows dark dark as the moment seems as dark as the moment feels. I see that He has given nearly everything for us, to achieve our salvation, yours and mine. He has nearly nothing left to give...yet He is not finished. He thirsts for our redemption for our reclamation and salvation; yours mine all the lives of everyone still lost all those still unredeemed. I thirst, He said Among the seven last words recorded His words remembered, His words written down there can be found these two pain-filled words... I thirst... and a soldier squeezes vinegar into a sponge, lifts it up on spear's point history does not know if this was just more abuse or a sad attempt to offer help, even misbegotten help ... an attempt to offer something... anything that might assuage the dryness, relieve the parched throat; soothe the broken body; something offered when no other thing seemed available to give. Lord, I see that you rejected the sponge as soon as you knew it was not the water that You intended it was not the Living Water that You offered the woman at the well not the Revelation water the Holy Water, water meant to redeem water meant to restore; not the water from the rock at Meribah that kept the earliest of the Chosen together, even in their deepest disarray. It has always been about water... The creation story tells about all was water then water divided, earth formed; water mixed with earth used to form Adam. It was always about Your thirst for us always about Your love for us about Your desire that we be obedient that we come to the water that we come to You for baptism by water, water for relief water for forgiveness for healing, for cleansing, for repair, water for redemption. I thirst, He said... "Come," He said, "all who are heavy laden and I will refresh you." He offers us His water to drink... The old song says it: "Come to the water. Stand by my side. I know you are thirsty. You won't be denied..." He said it first to us, first for us. I thirst, He said. We should be obedient. We should be thirsty. We should come to the water, His water. And we should drink deep! He thirsts for us. SELAH! Amen What is meant by the promise of God? God's promises are His word: Intended for us meant for us to consider for us to meditate upon finally, for us to believe whole-heartedly in God's son believe in JESUS, the Christ; which is to do with all our hearts mind and soul all that He says. And what does He say to us? He says that the Kingdom of Heaven is near He tells us not to be afraid He invites us to come... He asks us to follow Him wherever He leads us. He promises He will never leave us, nor forsake us we will never be abandoned by Him for the only inescapable reason, for one undeniable truth, because of His Father's love and His Father's will we are secure in our position. Thanks to God's promise and God's provision We can believe the promise , we can embrace the provision We are free to join Him in His new life for us, free in wholeness, new in our restored beauty, in the final, full dimension of His perfect newness as He told us when our conversation of promise commenced, when we first explored the premise of His promise, when we began by understanding first, His Incredible Sacrifice and it's stunning result, how Christ was broken for us, How He was broken by us, broken because of us. In His suffering we are complicit, as our sins are taken and laid upon His already broken body adding to His pain the additional weight of our own sins. We are not afraid for we know the Kingdom of God is here For we have come, now knowing; we are glad to be here where His promises are no longer the subject of faith But are now the very substance of our new eternity. Us resting forever in His promise, knowing it is true. That IS Believing, and I believe it IS true. Is it also true with you? Be not afraid! The Kingdom of God is near. Come and follow. Reach out and taste His love, feel His presence. Believe He has called you to Himself. Draw near to Him, be reconciled. Do not be afraid! He has come, and He will come again! Alongside His perfect life, He has laid His perfect promise. Rejoice. Believe. Amen. A poem by Jon Elvrum, September, 2019 |
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AuthorJon Elvrum Archives
May 2020
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