Imagine. You are standing in a throne room that seems to stretch on for miles. The floor beneath you is made of something like glass, and below it, above you and before you rotates the spinning, glittering cartwheel of the universe. Lightning and thunder electrify the air. Rainbows arc and spark and gleam.
Creatures nearly impossible to comprehend stand at attention before you, clustered around a magnificent, mind-bending throne. They are all looking at Someone. That Someone is the limitless, eternal Founder of the cosmos. And He has somehow, inexplicably, bottled Himself into a human form. His eyes are blazing, bottomless infernos set in a face like Creation. Radiance pours from his mouth. His hair blazes like a sun. And He is wearing a three-piece tux.
He steps fluidly down the crystalline daises leading up to the throne, His polished shoes gleaming in the light from His face. His piercing, fiery gaze is locked, unwavering. You look around you. You stand clustered in a sea of millions. You are each individual and distinct, but at the same time, in some sense, it is like you are all one.
You look back ahead. That gaze takes in every person standing there, but at the same time it is trained solely on you. It ravishes you, holds you in a boundless, jealous grip. That gaze says you are Mine. You are My one. You are My only. You are My love.
The King of Creation reaches down and takes your hand. And you know there is no other place in all the cosmos that you would ever want to be.
What if the whole purpose of humanity is to become the love of God’s life? To become capable of giving and receiving His perfect love?
This last week I had an experience. If you’re in Charismatic circles, you could call it an encounter. If you’re not, you could call it crazy. It was at a conference at our church following a nearly-month-long partial fast. I have previously felt God working inside of me many times, often most intensely when someone lays hands on me and prays for me. But this was different. My eyes were closed as I sat at the back of the auditorium. I saw images of a man and a woman dancing and twirling their way up a grassy hillside as the Song of Solomon was read. I knew this man was Jesus, and the woman was His bride. But then the setting changed. And I saw the scene depicted above.
That was all great. But that wasn’t the encounter. I heard the guest speaker say something about becoming metaphorically like the fiery seraphim, burning with love for God. I raised my hands. As soon as I did it was like a waterfall of God poured into my head and upraised hands. It flooded me. It purged me. It overwhelmed me.
The speaker said something about people coming to the front and making it an altar to God. I couldn’t stop myself. While he was still speaking I rushed up in a blubbering, drunken stupor and collapsed to the floor. I knew I was making a scene. I didn’t care. I couldn’t. The dizzying, intoxicating love of God had overcome me.
Words are horrifically inadequate to even begin to describe the reality of the cosmic God who is Love. How do you bottle pure joy into a sentence? How do you overcome the handicap of meaningless, empty scribblings when trying to capture that ravenous, rapturous, limitless love? Perhaps music and the language of emotion come closest to glimpsing His reality. But they are themselves stunted. Perhaps the only real thing that can capture this Presence is this love that ushers forth from His presence. Real love. True love. Love that is selfless, jealous and impartial. And perhaps that is what we are on this earth, first and foremost, to learn.
What if our love for our spouse, our love for our children, our love for our parents and families and friends, are for more than the continuation and betterment of the human race? What if these are all situations designed to prepare us for the One who is Love? What if marriage is really training wheels? What if every situation we encounter where we have the chance to love and be loved is preparing us to be a fitting lover for God?
There’s a problem with this blog post, though. It’s still words. It’s just characters on a screen. It has touched your mind. But has it impacted your heart?
So do me a favor. Get somewhere private. Turn on some beautiful music if you’d like. Close your eyes. And then say, “Lord, I want to feel your love. Show me who You are. Show me who I am to You.” That’s what I did. And I was still reeling twenty minutes later.
Have you had an experience with God? I’d love to celebrate with you. Or maybe you have never experienced God’s love and you wonder if He even cares about you. I’d love to pray with you. Either way, let me know.
If you would share this (assuming you liked it) I’d appreciate it. Also, if you’d like to read more of my stuff, be sure to sign up for my email list. I’ll even send you the first half of my book “The Complete Cancer Diaries” as a thank you. Speaking of which, that book is now available at Amazon. If you liked this, you’ll love it! So check it out! 😉 Talk to you next time, my friend.