Of Joy (or, Beyond the Chicken)

Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.”

"If you knew the gift of God, 

and who it is that is saying to you, 

'Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, 

and he would have given you living water ... 

a spring of water welling up to eternal life."  (John 4)

There's a life beyond the chicken.  And all the guilt.

It took me a long while to realize it.  (It's hard to get over ugly scenes or messes.  Yes.  Yes, it is.  It takes time.  And a measure of grace large enough to bathe in hourly.)  So, I heard a conversation the other day, and it's what the topic wasn't about that matters.  (It wasn't about guilt.)  It started out something like this:

"It gives me pleasure, daughter, when you trust Me with the thing that gives you joy."

(pause)

"Father?"

"Your delight is found in Me.  I am your joy.  Drink and be satisfied."

(Was it a command?  No, it was an invitation - adorned for one's heart. Oh What to do now.)

"Literally?  You mean literally to drink of you, from you?"

"Yes, child, quite literally."

"Father, forgive me for not drinking.  You mean for me to come to You."

"Yes, literally."

"To be satisfied?"

"Yes, satisfied."

(Oh, most definitely, and Most Really.) 

Do you notice what is absent in this conversation?  It's what drew me up short.  It's so "other" and so different than where I usually track on my own.  You see, there is no mention of chickens.  Or beams.  Or condemnation.  Not a nary bit.  And I must wonder why there is none of it.  I'm beginning to suspect something else is the point:  It's not our guilt that the Lord is most concerned about.  Yes, he graciously pays for it, our debt; he removes it from our souls. Quite literally.  He does it.  Because it is a necessary removal.   A washing and cleansing of the best sort which speaks of who He is (holy Abba). And because it gets in the way of something more, he removes it.

Do we understand that it's about far more?  Far, far more. Can we see (pause, and read slowly):  It is for Joy that he endured so much.  (Hebrews 12:1-2).  A particular joy.  Do we have any idea of what sort?  Shh, Listen.  I can hear one coming, coming near, with The Invitation.  It's written, elegantly, beautifully and simply, "Come."  To a wedding.  And a feast.  It's a union.  Of rich, deep Joy.  It's where our life and his own intersect.  It's where we ought dwell, where our roots sink deepest and best.  Into Joy.  It's where longing and desire meet together expectantly, where mercy and truth kiss each other, tenderly.  It's how we are made well.  Rooted in His love, and having been rooted there, Joy grows and we are made strong.  Is this what Jesus meant when he said, "Come to me all those who labor and are heavy laden"? (That is, to those who are weary and pause long enough to admit it is that way, every day.)  We're to come.  And meet with promise.

 So, what do I do with such an Invitation?  (It is a very personal thing, that which we do.)


"The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song."  (Psalm 28)