This morning I read a little pamphlet about our Shepherd’s heart. It spoke of battle buddies. My first thought was Jesus, Who died battling for our souls. My second thought was my husband, my best friend, the one I love sharing life with. My third thought was my children and my grandchildren.
I pondered what our world would be like if spouses treated one another as battle buddies. Imagine a home where “two are gathered,” with Christ exalted and standing in its midst. Those homes would be built on the Lord’s perfectness allotted through the cross. Those homes would be forces not to be reckoned with; no darkness could prevail against them.
What if we endeavored to be empty vessels about The Father’s business, willing to pursue His purpose for our lives? What if we lived in light of the Lord’s counsel to seek those things which are above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God, setting our minds on the things above, not on the things of this earth, knowing that our lives (the purpose for our lives) is hidden in Christ? What if our top priority was to allow God to expand His Kingdom in our hearts, in our homes, in our communities as it is in Heaven, yielding our lives to the Author and Finisher of our faith, making Jesus Lord of our lives? What if we allowed the Lord to change our hearts from double-mindedness to single-mindedness for His glory’s sake, ceasing from being tossed to and fro by the trickery of every doctrine? What if we truly lived and moved in the freedom the cross of Christ secured for us as born-again believers set free through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ?
What if we didn’t just say on Easter, but every day of our lives, that “He is Risen, He is Alive”, living like we believe it? What if we guarded our hearts and minds, allowing the water of the Word to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, casting our crowns of sorrow, sickness, anxiety, fear and self-exultation at His feet? What if we truly believed that we are the joy set before Him as He endured the cross. What if when we closed our eyes in worship, with our arms outstretched to Heaven, we see ourselves standing before Jesus as He hung on the cross and understood that our worship is what kept Him on that cross contending for our souls.
This all seems so unrealistic, so hopeless when we look at the world around us. However, when we read God’s Word, stand on His promises and experience change, our vision expands, our thoughts get purer, we start seeing His goodness, His care, His provision and His mercy. We start seeing the brokenness of humanity and the willingness of The Savior to fix it. We realize that The Father not only owns the cattle on the hills, but He owns the very hills the cattle are standing on. We understand that The Maker of the heavens and the earth paid too high a price for us to split religious hairs over who spends eternity with Him. We understand that no loving Father would allow His precious Son to endure so much and accept any other path to His holy heart. We understand He is standing with His hand outstretched saying, “Taste and see that I am The Good Shepherd (The only Shepherd), and blessed is the man (home, community, city, state, nation) who takes refuge in Me.” Then we would be living like He is Risen, He is alive.
