God of the Both-And

I wanted to write about the launch of THRIVE CHURCH CHARLOTTE today, partly because I know you want to hear about it…partly because I said I would…and partly because it was amazing and needs to be shared about. But it will have to wait until next week. Cause I have a blog sitting on my heart, and something much more important to share today.

I’ll start with my new Bible.

First, you need to know that I love it. It’s in a translation that speaks to my desire for easy understanding, and I can now refer to it without having to pop over to biblegateway.com and look things up. Small inconvenience that is now a non-issue, thanks to a trip to Barnes and Noble and my husband’s desire to hear me stop complaining. :)

I cracked it open today to hear from my Heavenly Father, as my thoughts have been on Him since the sun came through my windows. Interestingly, I find myself in my personal study of the Old Testament, still perched in the book of I Kings. Not exactly where I wanted to be today, but probably the best place for me on this Good Friday.

After reading about all the lunacy and wickedness of the little “k” kings in the first 16 chapters of this book, I admit that I was ready for my civilized Jesus to come in and save me from the madness I found myself immersed in. And He did, though not in the way I expected.

Because in the midst of {king} Elah getting drunk and being too loaded to realize someone was murdering him…{king} Zimri taking out an entire family in the 7 measly days he had the authority to do so…and {king} Omri successfully {and moronically} achieving the title of “more evil than any of the kings before him,” I remembered something.

Just how different my big “K” King is.

My King {the real one, by the way} is royal and regal and doesn’t do self-destructive things. He is pure and pristine and doesn’t blemish Himself by turning His back on holiness. He wears His Kingly wisdom and authority well. In fact, so well, none has or can or will ever match it.

And yet, He is different in another way.

Because though He is every bit a King, He is every bit the God of the real and the raw. He is not out of touch with reality, sitting so far up on a throne that He does not understand the “commoners” below Him. Not at all. In fact, out of all the things there is to love about my King, the thing I love the most about Him is how He gets down to my muddied level and remains every bit of who He is while dealing with who I am not. He is civilized and Kingly, yet He reaches out to me in an untamed and wildly bold way.

For anyone else, this would be a paradox. But not for my King.

He doesn’t contradict Himself by being both. In fact, it is in His “both” that makes Him worthy to be called King of Kings and Lord of Lords. No one else can be equally good at meeting the needs within all of us for an ultimate authority figure with everything under perfect control and yet a down-to-earth Savior who isn’t afraid to get His hands dirty in dealing with our personal messes.

In fact, no one even comes close.

And so, today, I praise God for the reminder of my Lord and my King, Jesus Christ --in whom I love, respect, praise and adore. And I praise God for my very personal Lord and Father, Jesus Christ -- in whom I can let down and just be me, knowing He will not pull out the title that is rightfully His in such a way that I feel like I am not worthy of His friendship, understanding and tender care.

I praise my big “K” King, the God of the royal and the raw. For to me, He is every bit of both.

It is His day today. Everyday is His day.

Glory.