Italy

The summer after I graduated from high school, my brother and I and some other friends went to Italy. We had 17 days, and all 17 days were accounted for, planned for, filled up...until we found Lake Como, that is. We were traveling by train and as we were coming down from the Swiss Alps, we saw it - the most amazing place. We all just looked at each other knowing that we were all thinking the same thing. It was one of the coolest and most beautiful sights I had ever seen live. We ended up staying there longer then any other spot that we had planned.

When I first came to Christ it was like seeing the most beautiful place, He surprised me, caught me off guard. He was unexpected. When I began to explore him, when I got off the train and actually stayed, He overwhelmed me, I never wanted to leave.

But something happens, doesn't it?

I remember working and saving for over two years for that trip. I remember picturing in my mind what Italy would be like. Every time I thought about it I would get more and more excited. The thing is, I screwed up that trip because I was drunk the whole way through it. I didn't get to fully experience the sights, sounds, and smells of the old country that I had been daydreaming about and working so hard for. I didn’t get to fully appreciate the culture, architecture, and cobblestone streets the way I should have. Now, I feel like I never was really there. My memories are mixed with something else.

Here's the question we all need to ask ourselves. Are we here or have we become intoxicated with everything but the One True Intoxicator? Did we forget what drew us to him to begin with, why we got off the train?

Where are you?

I think we get bored, sidetracked, and forgetful because we stop exploring. We notice him, and He's stunning and all, but after a while we need something else to keep us occupied, entertained. I've noticed in my own life and relationship with God that we become distant when I start trying to figure him out. When I start putting too much structure to the way He functions and operates.

I don't know if you know this but God is really huge. He can't be tidied up, packaged, or outlined. But that's what we like to do, we want him to be something we can explain in three points, especially to people who haven't accepted him yet. We want to make him smaller so He'll be easier to control and maneuver. The moment we try to define God will be the very moment we understand and grasp him less. That should make us excited and bring us to our knees at the same time. We are wired by God to desire and long for mystery, which is the ongoing pursuit of searching and discovering who He is and what He is like.

The reason I think many of us are struggling to stay passionate for God is because the God we've created in our minds is something other then what He is and who He is like. If we're bored, it's because we don't believe that God is exciting, new, fun and adventurous or we think that He's out to make us miserable. If we're distracted, it's because we don't believe that God has the best to offer. We're still holding out for a better deal. Let's face it, sometimes our picture of God is pretty pitiful, and wouldn't that affect everything?

Don't lose sight of why you got off the train to begin with. It's because when you saw him, you just knew you had to stop and stay a while. You stepped out of your old life, your old ways, because you wanted something much better and bigger, and He found you. He searched and discovered little ole you nestled in a dark, cold corner. You were naked, and He clothed you. You were hungry, and He fed you. You were lost, and He put you on the right path. He gave you a hope and a future. Don't forget how it went down. You didn't do a thing to deserve it, you didn't pay a dime for the trip - the adventure that you're on. Don't waste it. Don't come to the end of the trip and realize that you weren't really there, that you didn't fully experience what you were supposed to.

May you revisit why you got off the train to begin with, and as you do, may you become intoxicated again by his love, peace, and joy. May you rediscover again how big and how great He really is.

“My wayward children,” says the Lord,“come back to me, and I will heal your wayward hearts.”“Yes, we’re coming,” the people reply,“for you are the Lord our God.

Jeremiah 3:22