Exalted

Acts 5:29-32

29.  Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
30.  The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.
31.  Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
32.  And we are his witnesses to these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.

 

Every day we are faced with a choice – at least one.  Will we go along with what is expected from the people around us or choose another way?  The higher way.  There are times when I feel this moment upon me and I pause….

I want to just go along, it’s so much easier and, sometimes, well, more seemingly fun.  But, I know… I know that I am being watched by the One who loves me more… I know that I am being called by the One who holds my destiny, the One who is waiting for me… the One who gave up unquestionable power for me, who has given me everything and wants to give me infinitely more… the One who patiently waits, refusing force, deigning not to harm a hair on my head, trusting my ability to love and to choose… waiting, hoping, the One who loves me more is ever true…….  And what will I do?

Like Emily Dickinson’s moment of pause…

“Angels’ breathless ballot

Lingers to record thee;

Imps in eager caucus

Raffle for my soul.”

The way of my love is not easy.  It is as simple as a bud opening to a rose and as complex.  The way is difficult, fraught with trial, hesitancy and pain… And, yet, through the way of my love is beauty and truth.  The most wondrous of wonders, the deepest of joys, the richest of goodness, comes only through humble sacrifice and selfless generosity.  To give, to give up oneself, in order to receive….

To obey men is to skip about the surface of things, frolicking, fleeting, complacency’s compulsion to avoid pain.  But, to obey God… To obey the One who loves me more is to be submerged into the depth of being… awash in intimate knowing… permeated by peace.

… And only the One who knows my secret self will revel with me in my choosing… secret and sacred in the abode of my heart in which we dwell…

Come, Holy Spirit, come… lead me in the way, the truth, the life….

Christina Chase