Day Five
Desperate For Intimacy

Click & Read!
Luke 7:36-50
Hebrews 12:28-29
Mark 15:33-41
Mark 16:9-10

Our nature is to hide our “bad choices” in life.  We are getting a healthy dose of this in my household as of late.  My two year old, Zai, is learning the difference between an accident and doing something on purpose.  It seems that every day we have the same conversation at least a handful of times.

“Mama, I took my boots off in the car and one just flew into the front seat.  It’s okay, it was an accident.”

“Mama, I made Elle cry when I took the toy away from her and knocked her down.  It’s okay, it was just an accident.”

“Mama, I ate a cracker I found on my car seat and it tasted weird.  It’s okay, it was just an accident.”  (Don’t judge.  Sometimes a cracker in the car is the difference between ten minutes of sanity or absolute meltdown DEFCON level six.  If you haven’t been there yet, just know that I love you, and it’s probably coming one day soon.)

I could keep going.  All. Day.  But you get the picture.

In the midst of the teaching moments (many as there are), it’s easy for me to forget that he comes by it naturally.  This is in my nature, too.  Transparency, responsibility, humility – these are all lovely intentions, but the application is rarely easy.  Nothing that goes against our base nature is simple.  My own gut reaction may not be to call something an “accident”, but excuses are never difficult to find.

My own “accidents” lie more along the lines of…

“I shouldn’t have said that.  But, I’m just so tired – this pregnancy is taking it out of me.”

“Okay, I may be overreacting a little here, but is it really SO hard to get a little help with the dishes/laundry/bedtime now and then?”

“I wish the conversation hadn’t gone that way.  But I am not in the wrong here.  He/she should be more compromising/compassionate/patient/fill-in-the-blank.”

I could keep going.  All. Day.

My “accidents” pile up and before I know it, I’m suddenly having difficulty finding intimacy with the Lover of my Soul.  You would think, at 32, that I would catch on a little more quickly.

I realized this week that I needed to take a lesson from another Mary of long ago.  She made mistakes, too.  In fact, that is how she was known by others…. Mary, the sinner.

The difference in our behavior is this:

She was desperate.  Desperate to worship.  Desperate to lavish extravagant praise upon the Son of God.  Desperate to experience intimacy with her Savior.

Despite her position.  Despite her reputation.  Despite her surroundings, her audience, her inner shame.  Mary was not naive – she knew how she was perceived.  But rather than let that stop her, she grasped for transparency and brought her broken self to the feet of Jesus in open, heartfelt worship.  She didn’t have perfection to give, she had only herself.
And she was rewarded.

Jesus said, “Your sins are forgiven.”
Mary drew close to Him, and He to her.
She was there with His mother as He took His last breath.
She was the first person to whom He appeared after His resurrection.
He forgave her sins and brought her into His family!

Jesus Christ is the same Lover of Souls in this moment, with you and me, as He was with Mary Magdalene. He is no respecter of persons; He rewards our brokenness and transparency with His intimate love. He knows my heart and mind, and no amount of excuses can change my sin.  I need to recognize these little traps for what they are and instead approach Jesus in the same manner as Mary – desperate for intimacy.

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Fullness! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!
Click the above image for today’s Digging Deeper!

Looking for other journeys from this theme? Here’s a link to all past studies in Desperate!