What If?

What if...we believed every word of God? Really believed, not just the giving mental assent or lip service type of belief but the no holds barred, putting it all on the line, believing with our entire beings. What if...we allowed ourselves to fully abandon everything and follow wholly and completely after Him, the One who loved us, died for us, and purchased our salvation? What if...we dared to trust like we've never trusted before? What if...we refused to be moved by the world around us, no matter how unsettling things appear? What if...we lived like we believe God is who He says He is and that He does what He says He will do? What then? How would living be different? What would we say? Where would we go? What would we purchase? What would we give away? Would our goals be different? How would we treat our neighbors, our families, the entire world? Would we laugh more? Feel deeply? Would we change at all? What if...we actually lived as if God was God of all?

He is God of all, but what if we lived it? What would we do? Would we treat Him differently? Talk to Him more? Listen more closely? Obey His every Word, written and spoken? Would we slow down and thank Him? Spend time at His feet lavishing Him with our love? Would we care for others more and ourselves less? Feed the hungry more often and shop for needless things less? Build a home for the homeless? Comfort the weary? Cuddle the children? Wipe away tears? Nourish their hearts and their bodies? Smile instead of frown? Embrace not push away? What? What would we do?

Would we quit trying to escape the hard and instead embrace it knowing we're safe in His care? Would we cease running from and instead run straight into His loving arms of grace? Would the careless words spoken sharp hurt as much if we were seeing as He sees and feeling as He feels? Would they? What if they didn't hurt as much? What if instead of causing us personal pain, they merely revealed the pain of others? A pain that our Lord and Savior died to heal? And we, having been redeemed from the pain and hurt, having been healed through His love, instead of being hurt, extended the healing love and grace with which we had been healed? What if? What if we lived healed, whole, and strong in Him and the power of His might? What if? What if we lived the Words, the life-giving, living Words He intends us to live? What then? What if?

In all the crazy, the pain, the torment, the loss, the lack and hurt of the world, what if believers lived like true believers? What if we were as different as we have been called to be? What if, for just one day, all of us lived what God says in its entirety? If for just one day, we all refused to see ourselves and our own desires and instead chose to see only Him and His plan for the day? Then seeing Him, hearing His heart, we chose to walk, talk, and live only for Him and that plan? What would that look like? Christians being Christians? How would that affect the world around us? Would they even know what to do? If instead of rejecting we embraced? More than that, we extended loving grace and mercy? What would they do? What would we do?

There is so much talk of revolution, collapse, implosion. Grief and sorrow abound. People eat people. People sell and buy people. Babies are murdered. Children are used to satisfy evil, vile lusts. All around people are attempting to eat, drink, drug, lust their way to a better place, somewhere, anywhere that offers a way out of the misery. And all around there are Christians, believers in Christ. Jesus Christ, the answer, living inside millions of people. What if we who know Him lived like it? What if we lived, breathed, talked, and gave as if He is the answer that He really, truly is? What if we did? What then? What kind of difference would it make? Even if not all of us did, even if only a few, what would it do? The resurrection power of Almighty God is inside of me, what if I dared to release it by living Him to those around me each and every day?

In my home, what if, instead of being stung by grouchy barbs I ministered loving grace to the loved one so tired? When children small fight big, what if I the mama spoke of mercy quiet? What if I remained alert and guarded my family from discouragement instead of seeing only laundry high? What if I stayed focused on Him and sharing His love? What if I did? What would I see? What difference would there be? What then? What if? When the day is long, and the tension is high, what if I loved My Beloved deeply, strong, and true? What if I laid my own weariness down, stripped off my own day, and applied a healing balm to my husband by lavishing My Beloved extravagantly with intimate love? What if I made my husband's goal, dream, and desire, my goal, dream, and desire? What then?

What if instead of being loved, I sought to love? Instead of being cared for I cared? Instead of speaking I listened? Instead of lashing out I loved? Instead of analyzing I heard? Instead of hiding I sought? Instead of receiving I gave? What then? What would My Beloved and Rewards do? Would they know me? Would I even be recognizable to them? What if...I lived and talked so much like Jesus lives and talks that instead of seeing me, others only saw Him? Oh Lord...please help me live the what if.  



Popular Posts