The kids have been studying the travels of Christopher Columbus these last few weeks. They even went to a special exhibit off the river that included touring exact replicas of the Nina, and the Pinta (the Santa Maria didn't make this particular exhibit). Those 3 famous ships carved into American history carry many stories of a great voyager fixed on his passion of discovering new worlds, and proving unaccepted truths. He knew it deep within his heart. The numbers added up. The science proved success. It burned in him. He had to go. He had to sail. His passion held him spell-bound. His studies left him little time for sleep. His private, secret world that drove him to explore and charter unknown seas and lands captivated every desire, channeled every ounce of energy, and held him transfixed on the prize set before him...the all-consuming joy of discovery.Everything...without exemption...everything pales in comparison to the discovery of the love of the Father, the person of Christ, and the presence of the Holy Spirit. Contrary to the world's opinion, boredom is never found when separating yourself holy unto Him. It is, in fact, enthralling...anything to find Him. When I think of the many...trinkets...of this world, I see they are nice. But that is all. They are nice trinkets. They do not capture me. They only moderately interest me. I kind of fake my interest some times just so people won't think I'm weird...at least not more so....
I certainly do not want to come off as "holier than thou". Please do not misunderstand. It's just that you and I have seen something. We have seen something magnificent. We have seen something that is not of this world. It is irresistible. It burns within. We know it in our hearts. We have seen a great light. The numbers add up. The science proves success. We have to go. We have to sail. Our secret world captivates our hearts and holds us spell-bound on the prize set before us...the joy of discovery...the discovery of our God and our great city, Jerusalem.
Please do not misunderstand my passion as legalistic endeavors and forsaking of this world. It is almost Christmas, and I regularly ask my daughter what she wants for Christmas. She rarely has an answer! This happens every year. My wife, thanks to her friend, Rachel, made the recent discovery that Annaliese's love language is touch and decided presents are cool to Annaliese but she would be just as content to have her parents hugging on her every night and tucking her into bed, instead. I guess this is why Rachel nicknamed her Annasqueeze, AKA "the squeeze". God's word says that if you seek him with all your heart you will find him and if your eye causes you to sin gouge it out, or your hand...cut it off. Like my daughter's desire for the presence of her family, so is our all-consuming desire to be with Him. And so is our desire to let nothing stand in the way. "In him are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge"...he is the treasure. So we seek him...blinding our eyes to the world if necessary...whatever it takes...just to find him.
May we walk with the secret heart of an explorer. The land we explore is a mystery that cannot be mishandled or treated lightly with reproach. It is the voyage of a lifetime, a pilgrimage, and unknown fire warms our hearts along the way. Dark speech dispels lies and unlocks new passageways. We must sail! We must link arms together and set sail. Every waking moment cries out for discipline, navigation, mapping, creating, teaching, declaring, seeking, and most important of all, discovering.
Holiness is enthralling. I hunger for its mysterious fire because I know that He is there in that fire, and I hunger for Him. There is no boredom found in holiness. It is pleasurably resisting the world as we melt into the arms of His love and His magnificence. If we only accomplish one thing today, let it be to live with the heart of an explorer. We must set sail!
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