The Coffee Shop Painting

This is a picture I took of a painting at Mezamis Coffee Shop. I think its AMAZING. I noticed it when we were having Bible Study there on Thursday. And I just stared at thinking.."wow Lord, that is You. Calling us, waiting for us, to come, and sit, and listen..to seek and find..you're waiting for us..until time ends and You return. And when You will have to broken-heartedly say to some 'depart from me, i never knew you.' I would die if You said that to me.."

It was last February that I started feeling this overwhelming desire to KNOW HIM, i knew OF HIM, but I swear, I would see this vision of a small dining table for two..with me on one side and I imagined the Lord on the other, and we sat and I got to know Him and we talked of Life..

I was so tired of bland faith. Of just knowing the ins and outs of Christianity instead of knowing the One behind the name..

I wanted to know Him for myself.

It's just like when you hear a friend talk of one of their friends a few times, and you form an image of that person in your mind and get to know them..indirectly. But the problem with that is, its your friend's perspective of that person, and whatever wounds, joys, and biases go with that, that your friend shared with that person, are now throw into your perspective of them, and you've never gotten to know them for yourself!

As scattered as that is, I think that was me and the Lord..I knew very little for myself. Not that all i had heard and was told of Him was wrong, but it wasnt a result of me knowing Him, and that just wasnt good enough anymore!

I wanted to say salvation is good news, and really believe it for myself that it is in fact, GOOD NEWS! and not just NEWS.

Good News spreads..and Bad new spreads..But news is just..reported. And if it happens to catch a wondering ear or an eye, it spreads a little...

But we crave anything curable, anything to shed light on who we are and what we're made for..Anything to give us peace, clarity, and satisfaction.

He is all of that, I heard it a thousand times, but I wanted my heart to know it, because i knew if my heart knew it, then it would overflow into my actions and then the world around me would know it too..

SO. 2 chairs. a table. a cup of coffee..a voice saying .."I'll wait for you.."
But how long?
How long will He wait for us to come and sit with Him?
Until either we die, or He returns I suppose..

But then what if we have sat in that other chair before, did the conversation spur us on to invite other people to that chair??? Or did we do all of the talking, and then get up and leave? Did we sit and listen to Him? Did we realize that all of the answers to all of our questions, would be found in KNOWING HIM? I know He loves us, and He knows that all is found in Him, and if we would just sit and seek, He is faithful to reveal Himself to us. We're so keen on getting to know deep secrets of people, but what of the deep secrets of the Lord? Are we that excited over those? I know what holds me back from that chair sometimes, it's because I know I will know Him deeply, and with that is a stronger bond, a stronger love, one that I may lose myself in, to be that close, that committed, is scary. What if I let Him down? I will. I know I will. He knows I will. And i've discovered, it wont change His love for me in the slightest..

Now I have to ask, are we as inviting to others seeking as the Lord has been to us?? Or are we too blinded by our own selves to see those seekers?

Are we too busy with the work of God, to even notice that empty chair??
Can we make ourselves available for that phone call of a friend or co-worker in need? Do we portray someone who says.."I"ll wait for you.." or WAIT ON ME, I have other things to do..but i'll be there.."

the parable of the banquet in Luke 14
Jesus replied with this story: “A man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations. 17 When the banquet was ready, he sent his servant to tell the guests, ‘Come, the banquet is ready.’ 18 But they all began making excuses. One said, ‘I have just bought a field and must inspect it. Please excuse me.’ 19 Another said, ‘I have just bought five pairs of oxen, and I want to try them out. Please excuse me.’ 20 Another said, ‘I now have a wife, so I can’t come.’

21 “The servant returned and told his master what they had said. His master was furious and said, ‘Go quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and invite the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ 22 After the servant had done this, he reported, ‘There is still room for more.’ 23 So his master said, ‘Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full. 24 For none of those I first invited will get even the smallest taste of my banquet.’”

All those invited gave excuses..

Those excuses are not far from our lips either..

"I cant just sit at home on friday night, that's boring..I cant just sit and read, and pray. But I can do it in my car on my way to everything I go to."

I guess what im trying to say is...

Are we allowing our daily lives to portray someone who is available and willing to meet with anyone the Lord puts in our path, or do we fill up our days with things that arent producing any fruit, but "good deeds" and the lost and seeking around us dont approach us to sit and talk because they can see we are "too busy" and wouldnt want to inconvenience us..

I'm not saying everyday, sit and wait. NO. of course, not "GO! and make disciples.."

but Go with God's direction..Pray for Him to direct your steps everyday. If he says go, go. If he says wait, wait. If he says, stay at home and rest. then rest.

You may end up at a different table than you're used to, a different set of chairs, a different elevator, but the person next to you could be a seeker..Do you have Good News for them? Or are you on your cell phone trying to relieve awkward silence? Do you have Good News for them because you've spent time sitting in another set of chairs that THEY'VE NEVER BEEN IN BEFORE ?! With the Creator of the Universe and you HAVE to tell what you've seen and heard? You're probably in an unfamiliar setting, because you've been in an unfamiliar set of chairs, that they need to be in! That they need to hear about, and be invited to!

I hope we are as inviting as the Lord Jesus is...
But most of all I hope we ourselves have first accepted His invitation to come and sit, and then go and tell...