This controversial topic is broccoli.
For the sake of this post...no one really likes broccoli. And that's controversial because I know there are plenty of people who like broccoli. I actually happen to be one of them. Still. For the sake of argument, we shall define broccoli as "that green vegetable that mothers force their children to eat because it's good for them, but that no one really enjoys."
Okay, now that we're on the same page, I can get on with the real point of this post.
I would like to propose that most of us look at Jesus and His love like we look at broccoli. We know we should take part in it because it's good for us, but we don't particularly enjoy it, and it's certainly not our first choice. We will run to other things to satisfy our hunger, because broccoli just isn't tasty enough to warrant eating enough to fill you. And no matter who you are, I'm going to guess that broccoli is nobody's comfort food of choice.
"I'll eat my broccoli first," you promise, "but I'm going to get through it as quickly as possible so that I can have that cake."
"I"ll go to Jesus first," we promise, "but I'm going to spend as little time with Him as possible so I can move onto things that actually make me feel better." (Which, incidentally, could also be cake.)
His love is not a broccoli kind of love.
His love is not a, "Yeah, I've got Jesus...but I need other stuff too" kind of love.
His love is not something we proclaim, but abandon when the rubber meets the road because we find it insufficient.
At least, it shouldn't be.
"You will delight in the richest of fare" (Is. 55:2b).
"Those who seek the Lord lack no good thing" (Ps. 34:10).
"Take delight in the Lord" (Ps. 37:4).
He's not supposed to be a to-do. He's a delight. Being near Him is a thrill...is a joy.
Look at a few examples here.
"Thinking he was the gardener, [Mary] said, 'Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.' Jesus said to her, 'Mary.' She turned toward him and cried out, 'Rabboni!' Jesus said, 'Do not hold onto Me..." (John 20:15-17)
Sometimes it frustrates me, the little details that are left out of the Bible, but we are left hints. Jesus would not have told Mary not to hold onto Him if she weren't clinging to Him. In her delight at seeing Him (and seeing Him alive!), she just had to hug Him! Jesus was huggable! God is huggable! Doesn't that make you happy?? (Well, I know a few people who don't like hugs...but doesn't that make most of you happy??)
And then what about this one:
"Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He called out to them, 'Friends, haven't you any fish?' 'No,' they answered. He said, 'Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.' When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, 'It is the Lord!' As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, 'It is the Lord,'...he jumped into the water" (John 21:4-7).
As soon as he realized it was Jesus...Peter had to be near Him. He could've stayed in the boat and gone with everyone else like a sane, dry person, but no; he had to get to Jesus. Had to. This wasn't even the first time they had seen Jesus alive, either! Peter already knew that his Lord was living. This was simply another encounter, another chance to be near Him. And by golly, Peter wanted to be near Him.
People don't throw themselves at stiff, serious sticks-in-the-mud.
People don't jump into the freezing cold Sea of Galilee to get to boring, judgmental killjoys.
His presence is something powerful. It is something fulfilling. And it is something we are all in desperate need of.
He waits for an invitation -- an invitation to come and be all that we need Him to be. An invitation to fill us up and cause us to realize that with this love washing over us, nothing could ever be that bad again. Anything this world can throw at you is only a surface wound, only a scratch. The enemy's got nothing on you; your God is for you.
He is enough. He's not just good for you. We are meant to delight in Him.
So grab a party hat and put on your dancing shoes.
This is a God worth celebrating.
