Precious Jesus

The lovely scent of “Tis the Season” is wafting through my apartment.  Besides that candle, the Christmas trees (yes, I have more than one J) and the paper stars are the only lights on.  Yes, the dishwasher is going.  Yes, my hair is wet from my shower.  And, yes, I have laundry waiting for me to rescue it from the heat of the dryer.

But after all the clutter of the day is gone – I can finally sit and rest.  I don’t know why, but it is really hard for me to rest when there is disorder.  When I see clutter, I either have to get rid of it….or make more organized piles.  (And, yes, often the organized piles are the option I choose.)  Clutter can be visible things, like unopened mail.  But clutter can also be invisible…like my thoughts.

Too often, my thoughts are so cluttered that I have no room for Jesus.

“Jesus.

What a beautiful name.  I love to watch how it falls off the lips of those who love Him.  I shudder as it falls off the lips of those who don’t.

It has been the most important and most consistent word in my life.  Dearer today than yesterday.  Inexpressibly precious.

Jesus.”

I read that quote from a book by Beth Moore this morning, and it reminded me of a lesson God taught me a few weeks ago….which I promptly forgot because my mind got cluttered. 

In I & II Peter, the word “precious” is used frequently:

1.       I Peter 1:7 “…your faith – of greater worth (more precious) than gold…”

2.       I Peter 1:19 “…redeemed…with the precious blood of Christ.”

3.       I Peter 2:4  “As you come to Him, the living Stone – rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to Him – “

4.       I Peter 2:6 “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame…”

5.       I Peter 2:7 “Now to you who believe, this stone is precious…”

6.       II Peter 1:4 “…He has given us His very great and precious promises…”

Apparently, Peter likes to remind us that we have been given precious things.  Faith.  Jesus’s blood.  Jesus Himself.  Jesus’ promises.   (And there are more verses that I didn’t put down…)

All of the words that we translate as “precious” in English can come from a number of different Greek words.  Most of those words are somewhat related to the root word, “Timios”.

Timios means:  “valuable, that is (objectively) costly, or (subjectively) honored, esteemed, or (figuratively) beloved:  - dear, honorable, (more, most) precious, had in reputation.”

Isn’t it interesting that something can be objectively costly, yet not honored or beloved? 

Jesus is objectively valuable, whether I realize it or not.  He deserves to be honored and esteemed.  He deserves to be beloved.

Do I consider Him inexpressibly precious?   Is He objectively, subjectively, and figuratively precious to me?

This is where the clutter needs to be cleared out of my mind.  I make time for precious things.  I need to make time for…to make room for…precious Jesus. 

I have had a very full semester.  Just looking back through my journal, I have been blessed to do many things.  I’ve gone on adventures (trips to PA, VA, TN, SC), read books (Radical by Platt – made me think a lot, Bonhoeffer by Metaxas – wow, etc), heard great speakers, laughed, sang, played guitar, played Frisbee, spent time at a college ministry, seen progress happen on my thesis, felt like I was on top of the world…  But I’ve also cried, felt inadequate, alone, tired, angry, and frustrated.

Sometimes too many things (even good ones) can result in thought-clutter.  No wonder I found myself frustrated and upset and unreasonably emotional at times.  (haha…girls are never emotional.)  What if I had sat down and taken time to remove the clutter with journaling and praying?  What if Jesus was given His proper place in both my heart and my mind?  Well…I think He’d help clear out that clutter lickety-split! J

It’s been awhile since I last wrote a post, and I could go on for a while.  But I want to write down  just three more things that struck me in the past few weeks.

1.       “Bendetti,…author of ‘Stabat Mater,’ one day was found weeping, and when asked the reason of his tears, replied, ‘I weep because Love goes about unloved.’”  (MacDonald Commentary, p. 745)

2.       “Lord, Thy love has sought and found us – Wandering through this desert wide – Thou hast thrown Thine arms around us – For us suffered, bled and died – Sing, my soul, He loved thee – Jesus gave Himself for me….Ah, my soul, He loved thee – Yes, He gave Himself for me.”  (#95 BB)

3.       “Indeed, the very core of worship is to take those truths we learn about the Lord Jesus Christ from the Bible, to meditate on them, and then present them back to the Father with a heart-felt cry, ‘Father, we see how beautiful Your Son is!  We join you in taking pleasure in Him.”   (Shawn Abigail)

Don’t those quotes just grab you?  They grab me.  Do I weep because Love goes about unloved?  Or do I weep because I feel like I’m going about unloved?  Do I sing because Jesus loved me – enough to give Himself for me?  At church tomorrow, will I truly worship?  Will I join the Father in taking pleasure in the Son?

I so desire this quote from Beth Moore to be true of the name “Jesus” in my life:

“It has been the most important and most consistent word in my life.  Dearer today than yesterday.  Inexpressibly precious.”

And may His preciousness, (“timios”), be objective, subjective and figurative in my life.  He is deserving of all three.

I guess it’s time to blow out the candle and really get the laundry now.  But even if my apartment gets cluttered again tomorrow…may my mind be clutter-free and Jesus-filled. J