CRISIE HUTCHINGS

Father. Son. Holy Spirit. Three in One. God is One.

Father and Son. Not employer and employee. Not teacher and student. Not president, or prime minister, or dictator. But Father and Son!

So profound that the Godhead is identified as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. A truth we rarely even notice.

Holy Spirit is Comforter, Counselor, Spirit of Grace and Spirit of Truth. How can we dismiss these descriptors? How can we long so much for the presence of comfort and grace in our lives and yet dismiss the very One Who is the Personification of them? How can we not welcome the One who is Love into our souls and very existence?

So willing are we to live without God. When we search His Word, can’t we see Him? Don’t we hear His heart agonizing over the hearts of men? Do any of us feel the deep longing in His heart for us? The longing that He wants to be known and bids us only to open our eyes and hearts and we would; know Him.

He is constantly expressing Himself! His magnificent creation (Romans 1: 19-20)! Bidding us through His Spirit in every breath, to come near. And yet we do not see. We do not hear.

Father. Son. Holy Spirit.

This is He who speaks a word and calms the sea and with the same word causes its waves to roar! God whose Presence causes the mountains to tremble, stands near in stillness at the cry of a newborn to comfort and calm.

Son, Who is the exact representation of Father. Bound in love and affection to abandon all for that love’s sake.

Powerful love! Surely not the meager earthly offering we call love. But Heavenly. Godly. Love that finds its origin in Father, Son, Holy Spirit. “Other than” love. “Holy” love. Love that seeks justice and yet pardons the sinner. Love that kills and makes alive (Deuteronomy 32:39). Love that seeks and let’s go. Love that soothes and disturbs. Love that gives life and lays itself down in death (John 10:18). Love that wounds and heals (Deuteronomy 32:39).

This Love Who is God, Himself is what I want to know. What I yearn to live and experience. What I long to receive and give. We suppose we’ve come close from time to time in beholding this love in human icons we esteem and deem worthy.

But there is only One worthy, Who displayed and demonstrated undeniable love! Jesus Christ.

We’ve to look only to Him as the Precedent.  The Model. The Standard. But we’ve not taken a real look; a longing gaze at the One who is Perfect Love and Love’s perfection. We may take a glance and then look away because Love convicts us. Nails us to the wall. Unveils our true condition. Exposes us. Strips us naked. And these we cannot endure. (John 3: 19-20)

We are in a deficit when it comes to love because we would rather live in darkness then come into the Light of Love. All things are open and exposed to Love and we hide in the darkness because our deeds are evil. Would that we could step into the Light and come face to face with Love!

But we refuse Love. It’s too uncomfortable. Too demanding of us. Too constricting. Too bright. And so we stay in the shadows in a “less than” existence. In a cold, dark life that thrives on hiding and secrets. We reject Love Who created us. Who redeemed us and Who beckons to us to come out of the dark and embrace Love! But instead, we settle and settle in.

The tragedy of our day is that we assume Love is what says religion and piety and all other human expressions. We take for granted that Love thinks and reasons like we do and so we reject it like we’ve rejected ourselves. We restrain it just like we withhold from others. We believe that we are unlovely, unlovable and unloving. And so we are and more, become.

Be that as it may, the amazing demonstration of Love comes to our rescue (Romans 5: 6-8)! Though we hide and spurn Love, He comes anyway. He keeps coming. He keeps reaching out His Heart. In the midst of His own pain, in intense longing,  He keeps calling out to us.

And in Christ, His ultimate call was made. The call to fall upon the Cornerstone that holds all things together. To confess and forsake our sin and be cleansed and forgiven. But still today, we refuse. We make excuse and delay. For what purpose? To what end? Only Love knows yet still, He calls.

And we can hear Him, in the stillness. When all our idols have forsaken us and left us in ruins, we hear Love. Calling. We feel Him bearing down on our hearts and our rationale to come in from the rain and sorrow and hate. His beating heart resounding in the night air, in the cold dampness of all our efforts and striving. Come!

His eyes, open, to our every disappointment and crushing unmet expectation. His understanding and welcome in the midst of our filth (Psalm 103:13-14). His firm authority promising shelter from our enemy as we break our alliance with him.

An alliance with the Liar. An alliance with hiding and darkness. The alliance forged in our mother’s womb and played out unaware. Until Love speaks.
Until Love rents the Lie and lays bare, the Truth. Then, we decide. We stand, in the valley of decision, broken by Love and choose (Deuteronomy 30:19).

So we are summoned to Love’s side. Invited. Wooed. Pursued by Love, Himself. Pursued. King of the Universe. Lord and Master of all. Commander of the sea, the stars and the Breathe of Life. Pursues me (Psalm 8:4).

How will I respond?  Not just once, but for a lifetime.

Photo by Marcus Dall Col on Unsplash