The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

In the beginning, God created a good, good world. There was no pain or grief, no hardship or poverty, no loss or heartache. Even better, our first parents, Adam and Eve, enjoyed unbroken fellowship with their heavenly Father. But almost as quickly as the story began, it took a dark turn. In the shade of Eden, Adam and Eve doubted God’s good heart, and with the crunch of forbidden fruit, all of creation began to unravel.

However, God did not abandon humanity in their sin. Even as he was doling out consequences and judgments, he made Adam and Eve (and all of us) a promise. He told the serpent, later identified as the devil (Revelation 12:9), “I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15). With that word of judgment, God announced a Savior would one day be born, and He would deal evil a fatal blow.

And so, down through the centuries, the people watched and waited, looking for the one God had promised. But they were not left to wait in isolation. God spoke, giving his people instructions and making them promises. At one point, he also came to live with his people, taking up residence in the tabernacle as Israel sojourned in the wilderness, and later filling the temple in Jerusalem. But still the people waited for their Savior.

Jesus’ arrival was a new chapter in humanity’s story, to be sure, but it was also the fulfillment of all the stories the people of Israel had treasured in their hearts. And so, when the apostle John sat down to write his account of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, he knew just where to start.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). With that opening line, John ushered his readers back to the book of Genesis. There, God brought creation into being by his spoken word. John will introduce his audience to that Word, but first he wants them to consider that the Word is both God and also distinct from God. It won’t do to press them together too tightly, nor will it work to pull them apart. It’s just like a word that proceeds from your lips—it us both an extension of you and distinct from you. The Word is Yahweh, and yet the Word is with him. He is sent from God, and yet he is God.

All that brings us to John’s use of “the Word” to describe the Son of God. The prophets of Israel and Judah would sometimes describe revelation they received from God as “the word of the Lord.” (See, for example, Genesis 15:1; 1 Samuel 15:10; Ezekiel 14:2). As we read these passages, we commonly think God spoke to these Old Testament saints by a powerful impression or perhaps even with an audible voice, but that’s as far as we go. The “word of the Lord” in these instances is a message, nothing more.

But perhaps we’re wrong.

Consider Jeremiah 1:4–10. There, Jeremiah records, “The word of the Lord came to me” (v. 4). But then, a few verses later, the prophet tells us, “Then the Lord reached out his hand, touched my mouth, and told me: I have now filled your mouth with my words” (v. 9). A disembodied voice, no matter how powerful, does not reach out its hand and touch someone’s mouth. This “Lord” conveying divine words to Jeremiah’s mouth was God in physical form.

In John’s famous prologue, the Word is a message from the Lord. More accurately, he is the ultimate message, for he is “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature” (Hebrews 1:3). He came to show us what God is like, to silence any doubts about his goodness. That is why Jesus could say, “The one who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). But Jesus is more than a message.  He descended to be born one of us. He is the offspring God promised to Eve in the garden, the one he said would crush the head of the serpent (Genesis 3:16). He is the God who “camped out” or “tabernacled” with Israel in the wilderness (for that is literally what the Greek word translated “dwelt” in John 1:14 means).

At Christmas, we celebrate the God who draws near, the Savior who came to earth to wipe away our tears, put an end to our grief, and make a way for us to come home. We praise the Word who put on flesh so that he could reach out and touch those he loves.

The post The God Who Draws Near first appeared on Live Original.

We all have fears. What distinguishes us from each other is how we deal with our fears. Some people try to ignore them. This strategy might appear to be working in the short term, when what is actually happening is a boatload of deferral. Our unaddressed fears compound interest and grow in size and in the power they have over us.

Another approach is to confront our fears in small increments—not unlike inching our way into a cold lake by slowly shuffling our feet forward. Feet, ankles, and after a long period of time we might make it up to our knees. Progress is slow and unsatisfying. But the healthiest way to deal with our fears isn’t to grab our knees and do a cannonball in an attempt to beat them back, it is to understand them.

Plenty of times Jesus asked people who had good reason to be fearful the reason why. He asked a couple of the men in a sinking boat, “Why are you so afraid?” A seemingly unreasonable question to a boat full of guys who perhaps knew they could not swim to shore. There was no mention of life jackets, life rings, and rescue boats. These seem like questions with obvious answers, but only until you consider the circumstance more deeply and understand that there was much more going on under the surface than in the boat.

God doesn’t ask us to ignore or dismiss our fears but instead to understand them. When we figure out what our fears are attached to, we can ask God for the kind of supernatural help we need to overcome them.

Jesus doesn’t force Himself or His ideas on anyone, not on me or on you or on others, even though we are all desperately in need of His involvement in our lives. Instead, He puts the ball in our court. He asks us the unexpected questions and then waits for us to acknowledge our true needs and receive what He offers: love, acceptance, and a relationship with Him.

Sometimes God will lead us into difficult situations where our fears are triggered. His hope is that we would realize our desperate need for Him.

Think about it for a minute. What are you afraid of today? The way to take away the power fear may hold over us is to name what it is we’re afraid of, understand the origins of our fear, and then take these fears to Jesus to overcome.

Most of us can come up with a list of our concerns and fears, but what may take a little more digging is figuring out where these fears originated. If it is a fear of rejection you harbor, go back to your earliest memory of being rejected. See yourself in that time and at that place and remember what it felt like. That was you back then, but it doesn’t need to be you right now. You have changed and grown and learned what to trust and who to trust. You might ask Jesus to help you find your confidence in Him and His promise that He’s not going anywhere, ever.

I remember lying in bed the night before law school started. Tears were streaming down my cheeks, because, at orientation that day, the faculty had given their draconian version of a pep talk by saying that every third chair was eventually going to be empty because one-third of the class would flunk out the first year. No matter what end of the row I started, as I counted silently toward myself—one, two, three, one, two, three—I was always the third guy.

My first thought was to defer law school and start some other time when I had my act together. Isn’t this what a lot of us do when that fear of failure kicks in? We settle for the dissatisfaction of what we know rather than the ambiguity of what we haven’t tried yet. But settling for the ordinary when the extraordinary is right around the corner doesn’t get us anywhere.

How about this? Instead of avoiding distress, confront it. Rather than fostering a sense that failure might be near and doom is just around the corner, name what your fear is and call it out. Once it is out in the open, not only can you begin to understand it, but you also take away the power it has over you. 

What fears are standing in your way? Do you struggle with a fear of failure? Maybe it’s a big, public screw up that you’re afraid of, or perhaps it is the thought of an even bigger private mess-up that is holding you back. Whatever it is, do the work to determine where that fear came from, so that you can then ask God to help you sort out what is true and what is not true and what a good plan might be moving forward to break free from those fears.

Identify what is keeping you back today and bring that to Jesus. Tell God what you are afraid of. Take Paul’s words to his younger friend Timothy to heart: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

Experience the freedom that comes from calling out what you fear as specifically as you can and then bringing it to Jesus today. Ask Him for the guts and the grit to do something about it.

Fearlessness is the opposite of being ignorant of the circumstances. It’s saying, “Notwithstanding the circumstances, I serve a mighty Lord, and He can handle this.”

Run after fearlessness with all you’ve got.

—

Adapted from Catching Whimsy: 365 Days of Possibility by Bob Goff. Copyright © 2024 by Bob

Goff. Published by Thomas Nelson. Available wherever books are sold.

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Perfectionism is an insidious foe, especially during the holidays, when we’re inundated on every side with images of unattainable excellence. Social media feeds us snippets and squares of strangers’ lives which have often been carefully curated to edit out the imperfections of real life. We feel our lack, howsoever subtly, turning from our screens with a critical eye toward our own imperfect lives, resolving to make them look more like this or that influencer’s. Comparison culture has been linked to feelings of inadequacy, low self-esteem, depression, and anxiety. It can cause us to set an impossible standard for ourselves before inviting people into our lives, or, worse yet, cause us to withdraw in an attempt to shield our messy, ordinary lives from view. Yet comparison is so prevalent in our society, we scarcely realize how it’s affecting us. Theodore Roosevelt famously said that comparison is the thief of joy. But it’s also the thief of hospitality and human connection, not to mention any semblance of a meaningful holiday. And if we’re serious about engaging with what matters most this time of year, we’re going to have to recognize the role of comparison and call out perfectionism for the enemy that it is.

One of the ways I have learned to do this is to rely on a mantra to keep me tethered to what is true. “Perfect imperfection” is one I like to roll around, particularly when I start feeling tempted to overextend myself in preparations for Christmas. What I mean by that is that it’s the very fallibility of life that makes it life, and that anything that connects us to our humanness and that of others is not only good, but essential. Myquillin Smith, the home décor guru and founder of the “cozy minimalist” movement, says that “imperfections set people at ease,” and I have found this to be absolutely true, both in my experience as host and as guest. Perfection—even the appearance of it—can be threatening, off-putting, inhospitable. But if we really want to connect with people and make lasting holiday memories, we will embrace the fact that it’s the very imperfections that make it memorable.

My mother once spent Christmas Eve basting and slow roasting a goose my dad had brought back from a hunting expedition in Canada. The aromas were intoxicating as she opened the oven again and again throughout the day to drizzle another layer of apricot-laced pan drippings, and by suppertime my brother and sister and I were fairly ravenous. We gathered around as Daddy carved the bird, like a modern rendering of the Cratchit family, anticipating the first bite as he said the blessing. At Mama’s first bite, however, she twisted her mouth and knit her brows. Then, before any of us had a chance to raise so much as a forkful, she swept our plates into the kitchen and scraped them into the trash. The goose, it seemed, was full of lead shot. I honestly don’t remember what Mama served us for dinner that night in its place—probably fish sticks or canned ravioli. What I do remember, however, is her humor in relation to the thing, and how we have laughed about it over the years. That story has been canonized in my family history as evidence that the details don’t matter as much as the gift of simply being together.

Another thing that helps is to decide ahead of time what we want to give our time to. If we love to deck the halls and have people over, then let’s keep our menus relatively simple. If, on the other hand, your idea of love is to spread a four-course feast, or simply set a beautiful table for a family meal, it’s all right to scale back your decorations in other parts of the house, if need be. Give yourself permission to give lavishly in the ways you feel most called and equipped. But also give yourself permission to take a pass on the things that drain you of energy and joy.

Finally, and most importantly, invite God into your plans. We serve a Savior who is intimately acquainted with the details of our lives, and who wants to commune with us in the very midst of our calendars and to-do lists. Do not be afraid to ask for wisdom in matters great small pertaining to this holiday. As God-with-us, Jesus has entered into the minutia of our lives, dignifying even the lowliest things with his presence. He never asks us to pursue perfection in our own strength, but to rest in his unfailing, unconditional love and to extend that love to others. It is from this resting place alone that we can embrace the perfectly imperfect gift of this holiday season.

BIO:

Lanier Ivester is a homemaker and writer in the beautiful state of Georgia, where she maintains a small farm with her husband, Philip, and an ever-expanding menagerie of animals. She studied English Literature at the University of Oxford. For over a decade she has kept a web journal at lanierivester.com, and her work has also been featured on Southern Living, The Gospel Coalition, and The Cultivating Project, among others. Her latest book is Glad & Golden Hours: A Companion for Advent and Christmastide (Rabbit Room Press, November 2024).

The post Perfectly Imperfect first appeared on Live Original.

Has there ever been a time in your life where you feel you could insert your name in that sentence? Or maybe you feel that you can right now as you read this.

Are you anxious and troubled about many things? School? Grades? A busy schedule? Trying to juggle being a good friend, sister, daughter, mother, mentor, etc? Or perhaps getting anxious as this season gets busier and busier? Something didn’t go the way you thought it would? Unmet high expectations?

Let me give you some encouragement. These are actually the very words of Jesus as He came to visit Mary and Martha. And the words He shared with them are the words He’s sharing with us. And it is something that God has used to radically change my life. And I pray it does the same for you <3

I want us to pause and open our Bibles to Luke 10:38-42.

Once you’re there, I want you to read along with me. What I am about to share with you is something God used to radically change my life. And it comes straight from His Word.

“Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her to stop then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

Luke 10:38-42

Wow. Is this not moving? Can you immediately insert yourself into this story? I know I can!

Here we have Jesus Christ—God in the flesh—in Martha’s house. In Martha’s mind, she wants to serve him well. (Understandable, right?) And don’t you know Martha truly means well? She wants everything to be so perfect for Jesus. She probably wants the food to be perfect. A clean house. A house prepared to host. And I imagine she was going ninety-to-nothing.

In the midst of it all, Martha became incredibly distracted. And with all of the things piled up on each other, she began to be anxious about many things. This was because she was missing one thing….the main thing. Enjoying being with the one she was hosting. Sitting at his feet. Listening to him. Learning from him. She thought that the “things” she could do for him was the key when really, she didn’t have to do a thing but sit at his feet.

Now let’s talk about Mary. Mary knew all that needed to be done I imagine. My guess would be that Martha probably gave her a list of all the things they needed to check off and all Mary needed to do to help serve Jesus.

But when Jesus entered the room, immediately in Mary’s heart and mind, nothing else mattered. Everything else stopped in her life. She knew who was in her midst. And she just wanted to sit at His feet and enjoy His presence. There’s something so powerful about that last line—“ Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

This moves me every time I read it. The GOOD portion. The one thing necessary. And it won’t be taken away.

Can you relate to this story? If so, do you identify more with Mary or with Martha? This story is so, so timely for us today in the society we are living in sisters.

For me, part of my testimony is that I was a Martha at one point in my life. Honestly it was for a few years! My lifestyle was insanely busy and it was go, go, go non-stop. To say I was distracted was an understatement. And to say I was anxious is an understatement. And it’s because I was trying to take control of things and carry the weight of all that I was juggling and I was never meant to.

The life that society throws at us and tempts us to adopt and adapt to is not sustainable. And that is why anxiety is rampant in this world. It’s why so many are crippled by it. I myself felt crippled by it. But praise God He drew me out of the pit and set me on higher ground. He spoke the better word over me and that’s why I’m sharing my heart in this text today because if you are reading this and you feel that you’ve been a Martha too—anxious or distracted or troubled by many things, there is hope! And there is an answer. And His name is Jesus 

Let me tell you sisters, anxiety is NOT your portion! Your portion is peace and joy. And it is found in Jesus. He IS our peace. He IS our joy. He healed me and He will heal you too!

My life was radically changed when I entered into His rest and began to walk at His pace. I haven’t been the same and I’ll never be the same.

I was Martha. Distracted by many things. Anxious about many things. Busy doing all of the things. And it’s not that these things were “bad” things! But they were distracting. Martha surely wasn’t doing anything “bad”—but she was so busy doing so many things that she was distracted from the main thing—the good portion—sitting at the feet of Jesus and resting in His presence. And that was my story too.

In most beautiful, gentle, loving way, God told me to just be with Him. To be still and know that He is God. To cease striving. To sit at His feet. And doing that enabled me to step into the fullness of joy. A joy that’s unshakeable and a joy that cannot be taken from me.

The joy doesn’t come from everything in my surroundings becoming perfect. Things won’t be perfect until Jesus comes back one day and makes all things new.

The joy comes from knowing I belong to my perfect Heavenly Father who has already won. Who loves me. Who is pleased with me. Who calls me His own. Who sent His only Son to die for me. Who reigns victorious over all. Who has gone before me. Who chose me before the world began. Who wrote a story for me before I was even born. And I choose every single day to rest in the shadow of the Almighty and I live for an audience of One.

And sisters, this truth applies to you too. You can step into the fullness of joy that only Jesus offers and enter into His rest. You can reclaim your peace!

We’re not called to be a Martha. We’re not called to do all of the things. We’re robbed of our peace when we begin to do that.

Let me give you some good reminders that I pray will ease your mind in some way, shape or form 

• It’s ok if you go to sleep with dirty dishes.
• It’s ok if you didn’t get all the laundry folded.
• It’s ok if you didn’t do so well on that test.
• It’s ok if you’re single.
• It’s ok that guy broke up with you—God has someone better!
• It’s ok if you were accidentally late for class.
• It’s ok that you don’t have as many followers as she does.
• It’s ok if you don’t dress like she does.
• It’s ok if you didn’t get your workout in.
• It’s ok that you don’t have that job just yet.
• It’s ok.

Do you know why it’s ok? Because Jesus isn’t asking us to hit every mark of society.

He’s asking us to abide in Him. To trust Him. To rest in Him. To be totally found in His unconditional love. To love Him with all that we are. To sit at His feet.

And when we abide in Him, we will bear much fruit. The fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. And this is what brings a fulfilled life. An empowered life—empowered by God’s Holy Spirit. And when He is living in you, know that that is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. Therefore sisters—you can overcome whatever may come your way! Not because of your own strength, but through the strength of the One living inside of you.

And sisters, the truth is that we wouldn’t have any of this if it weren’t for Jesus coming to the earth as a baby—God in flesh. Immanuel. God with us. And as we are in the middle of this Christmas season, I pray each and every one of us keep the main thing, the main thing. You’re going to be tempted to be a Martha. To feel stressed you haven’t gotten all of your Christmas shopping done, or maybe the house isn’t clean for the guests, or maybe your mind is cluttered from all you have to do.

Let me encourage you to stop, pause, and breathe in the peace of God. Don’t let society’s portrayal of Christmas cloud out the true meaning of what Christmas is. The miracle of God coming to earth through Jesus—as He provided eternal hope for us and enabled us to be made right with God.

Sit at the feet of Jesus. Keep your eyes fixed on Him.

Whether it’s something involving the Christmas season or something else going on in your life, I want to leave you with some truths.

Jesus says in Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Be reminded of Philippians 4:6-7. It says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

When we lay all that we are anxious about down at the feet of Jesus, something incredible happens. His peace—the peace of God—that surpasses ALL understanding, guards our hearts and mind in Christ Jesus.

Sisters. This peace is yours. Claim it today and forevermore.

Peace isn’t found in the absence of trouble. It’s found in the presence of Jesus.

So sisters, let’s be a Mary and just sit at His feet. Let’s choose the good portion. The one thing that won’t be taken from us.

–Your sister,

Anne Elizabeth

Anne Elizabeth Buys is from Vicksburg, MS and has a deep passion for sharing the love of Jesus, for her family, and continually being a student of God’s Word. In 2017, she served her state as Miss MS and it was during that year she felt the call of ministry on her life. She began to write daily devotionals and share the gospel any and every way she could, with a deep passion to speak life into young women’s identity. She also began serving in her church on the worship team and leading in the youth group. She attended Mississippi State and graduated with a degree in broadcasting and worked in the corporate world for a few years, but in 2023, she felt the Lord calling her to jump into ministry full time. She answered that call and now works full time as the Director of Ministries at Triumph Church of Vicksburg and embraces every opportunity to serve the Kingdom.

Follow along on social media @anneelizabethbuys. 

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Watch the full message linked here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9W0rpBi92jI&t=89s

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In today’s world, we are constantly told we need a plan of where we want our lives to go or we are asked where we see ourselves in 5 to 10 years.

I graduated college almost three months ago and to be very honest with you all, I was scared half to death. During college, we are constantly lectured that when we graduate we need to have it all figured out, know exactly what we want to do, where we want to live, and have the next 5 years of our lives planned out or we will not be successful. Excuse me? As a girl who majored in one of the broadest majors there are did not know the answer to any of these questions, and it honestly made me feel like a failure or that I was disappointing the people around me. I am here to tell you as a 3-month post-grad girly, I am still living in the complete unknown of what I am doing and what is coming next, but guess what? That’s okay! The beauty of it is that we do not have to have it all figured out because we know the One who holds tomorrow!

The unknown seasons of our lives can truly be such a beautiful time if we allow it to be. I heard a comparison of our life plans to a wet bar of soap. I know this sounds crazy but stick with me. If you hold a wet bar of soap too tight, it will slip right out of your hands. If you just allow it to sit in your open hand, it’ll move around, but stay in control. This is how we should view holding on to our plans for our lives. It’s okay to have dreams and desires for your life, but don’t hold onto them so tight that you aren’t open to the plans God has for you.

This comparison has helped me to see that for a while I was holding onto Dacey’s plans a little too tight and not being as open as I should be to the plans God had for me. If anyone knows me, I am an extreme planner. I like to plan out every day to the T. I was the kid that at the age of 10 knew exactly how I wanted my life to pan out. I wanted to finish school, be married at 19 (like my parents of course), have 3 kids by 30, and be a stay-at-home mom. This plan sounded so perfect to me, and any other plan just sounded horrible. Well, I am here to tell you today, that I am 22, and Dacey’s 10-year-old self’s plan is not working out how she thought it would. But that is okay!! Just because my plans aren’t going how I thought they would, that just means God has a better plan in store for me and you if you can relate to 10-year-old Dacey’s plans! I encourage you to loosen the grip on your plans even though it may be a little scary at first! Remember the One who created you and everything around you knows what is best for you and what is to come in your life! Trust Him, He’s got it under control!

In Matthew 6:34, God calls us to not be anxious about tomorrow because if He clothes the grass of the field, will He not clothe you even more than the grass? God wants us to believe that He will provide for us, and we should not worry about what is to come in our futures. This is why the unknown seasons and times of our lives can be such sweet and faithful times with the Lord. When we have no plans at all for our lives, it allows us to be more open to the plans God has for us. In this unknown season of my own life, I have no plan like my 10-year-old self did. I still have dreams and desires of being a wife and mom one day, but right now, God has a different plan for my life and those dreams and desires will come in God’s perfect timing if it is His will for me to be a wife and a mom one day.

Changing our perspective of the unknown from scared to excited allows us to open our eyes and hearts to what all God could do in this season of our lives! When we have no idea, God knows it all. He knows where we are going to be in 5 years even though we don’t. He knows where we will live tomorrow or in the next few years, even though we don’t have a clue. I encourage whoever is reading this and myself who feels like they have no idea what they are doing in life right now to do whatever we do with open hands for God’s plan and to be expectant of what He can and will do in our lives. Do I understand everything right now? Of course not, but I am thankful we love and follow a God who calls us to trust Him and lean not on our understanding. Being in the unknown is okay, even if you have been told your whole life you need to have it all figured out.

In this season of life, lean into Him and trust that He will lead and guide you to exactly where you are meant and called to be. Fully lean into Him. God knew you before you were in your mother’s womb. Girl, He knows you by name, and His love for you is unmatched.

The Creator of the world knows you, and in Jeremiah 29:11, He tells us that He knows the plans for our lives. If this isn’t reassuring, I don’t know what is. Believe this and this season of your life might just become the most exciting one yet!

Dacey Triplett is an LO ambassador and has been writing for LO since 2023! She just graduated from Appalachian State University with a Bachelors in Public Relations. 

“A big part of who I am is that I was born with Achondroplasia dwarfism. I know that’s a really big word but all it means is that I was born with short limbs which means I’ll only be about 4ft tall for my whole life. It would have been easy for me to let this define who Dacey would be, but God had something else in mind. He took what the world would have called a mistake and turned it into a blessing. God can turn anything around, and He definitely did in my life! He used my dwarfism to give me a story, and now I get the opportunity to tell my story to thousands of people! If you can learn anything from me, I’d encourage you to be the you that God created you to be!! “

Keep up with Dacey on social media – @dace.trip 

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FOLLOWER

DEFINITION: Someone that follows the opinions or teachings of another and imitates the other.

As someone who grew up in a time when social media was being created and continually growing, I joined each new platform as they were introduced. Once my accounts were established, my attention began to be drawn to how many followers I had. At this point, my idea of following someone or even being followed by someone only related to a number on my social media account. My days would be consumed with thoughts like these:

Has the number gone up today on my list of followers? Did I lose any followers? Who unfollowed me? Why did they unfollow me? Why did that picture get less likes than my others? What about that picture made people like it more? What can I do to be sure that I don’t lose any more followers? What do I need to do to make sure more people want to follow me?

Maybe these are some thoughts or questions that have filled your mind more times than you would like to admit like they have mine. Maybe these are some thoughts that have become like second nature to you and you don’t even realize that you are thinking them anymore.

If this is you currently or has been you before, I want to challenge you today to a question and share some truths that have truly changed the way that I walk through my life here on this earth in the midst of a social media driven culture.

What does it mean to be a true follower of Jesus Christ in today’s culture?

In the same way that my mind used to only think of social media when I thought about having followers or being a follower, my mind now immediately thinks of a couple of biblical synonyms to the word. I now hear the word follower and immediately think about discipleship and the beauty of truly, wholeheartedly following the most important person you could ever choose to follow. I now hear the word follower and immediately think about being an imitator of Christ in all that I do here on this earth.

The question we ought to be asking ourselves in today’s culture isn’t, “Do I have a big following on social media?” The question to ask ourselves is, “Who am I following above all else, and who am I pointing others towards in the midst of my pursuit?”

Now trust me, like many of the good things that we are offered in Christ, I know that this shift in mindset is much easier said than done! I know that this mindset is easy to desire, and a lot harder to put into action. I know this from my own walk with the Lord, and I want to encourage you today that believing in the truth of this new mindset is the first step in walking a life completely, sincerely, sold-out for the growth of the Kingdom of the Lord. Which, by the way, is a calling that each and every one of us is responsible for!

It is said in Matthew 28:18-20, “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Y’all! That wasn’t just a suggestion that Jesus mentioned to His disciples before His time here on this earth with us was finished. That was the greatest commission that Jesus spoke for ALL of us as the body of Christ to get to step into! What a joy it is to know that the Lord has invited us into doing kingdom work alongside Him and that His spirit will be with us through it all until the very end of the age!

So now that we are here, we may be to the point that we can agree that our mindset needs a shift. We may be at the point that we believe that the question we should be asking ourselves is, “Who am I following above all else, and who am I pointing others towards in the midst of my pursuit?” So what next? How do I truly live out a life devoted to following Jesus Christ above all else?

In my personal experience, it takes realizing that this life is out of your control to begin to realize that you need God to lead you through it. Maybe you have been a believer of Jesus for a long time but you haven’t truly been following Him wholeheartedly. I want to encourage you that you are in the right place today to encounter God in a fresh way. Even if you have been running or settling for the lies of this world, you are always in the right place to have an encounter with Jesus Christ. He is simply waiting for you to turn your face to Him and surrender all. And ultimately, for us to truly follow Christ in a way that we become imitators of Him, we must set out to know Him intimately in order to discover how to become more like Him to the people around us.

What if instead of only thinking of our followers on socials for our own glory, we actually viewed each and every number in the same way that Jesus sees and loves them. What if we actually saw each and every number as a human being who can either be pointed towards or away from the cross through the stories, pictures, and captions we choose to post. What if we viewed social media as one of our greatest mission fields to go out and share the love of God with all people we come in contact with. For it is said in Romans 10:14-15,

“How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.”

Lord, may the desires of our hearts be to be the hands and the feet who bring good news to a generation that is desperate for a savior to follow. Lord, may we not care if it costs us followers, as long as we are following YOU!

Lydia Walker is a member of LO Worship and an Area Representative for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in Northeast Louisiana. She lives in Louisiana with her husband Reeves and her golden doodle, Teddy. Keep up with Lydia on Instagram @lrd.walker!

The post Follower first appeared on Live Original.

Jesus loves me, this I know,

for the Bible tells me so.

Little ones to him belong;

They are weak, but He is strong.

I can still hear my Sunday school class sing this song all together. I sang with such confidence that it was true. I just loved it, and I loved the lyrics. I mean, who doesn’t love being loved? I sure do. I’m guessing you do, too. We all have this desire to be seen, known, and loved.

As we get older and experience more life, opening ourselves up to love can feel absolutely terrifying over time. As Tim Keller explains, “To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything.”

Although I didn’t fully grasp how true these lyrics were at five years old in my Sunday school class, I understand now that the Bible actually does tell us so. The Word of God is full of Jesus’ love for us. And we discover the depth of love Jesus has for us, only then can we begin to open ourselves up to being known and loved by another human being. Jesus first, relationships second. Always.

In John 4, we meet a sweet friend who was looking for water, but needing so much more. We don’t know her name, but we learn a lot about her and Jesus from this conversation surrounding a water source:

A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For the Jews had no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you know 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.” (John 4:7–10)

That’s only the beginning of her interaction with Jesus. I encourage you to read the rest of her beautiful story in John 4:11–30. But here’s what we learn about her from her time with Jesus.

She was culturally seen as “lesser than” because she was a Samaritan. Being one meant that she was generally hated by Jews for religious and racial reasons. On top of that, Samaritans were known for having unstable theological beliefs, not fully rooted in Scripture. All of this is the perfect storm for prejudice and cultural tension between these two people groups.

Also, she struggled with shame and isolation. We see in verse six that she came at the “sixth hour,” meaning around noon. Culturally, women would travel in groups in the early morning hours (the coolest time of the day) to draw water from the well. But our friend not only showed up at the hottest hour of the day, but she also came alone.

When we feel shame, we pull away from God and from others. Isolation is one of the biggest tools the enemy uses to keep us in our thought patterns of shame, guilt, and regret. That’s where we find her. That’s right where Jesus found her. And He had something to say about it.

Lastly, she had a questionable past when it came to relationships. “The woman answered him, ‘I have no husband.’ Jesus said to her, ‘You are right in saying, “I have no husband” for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true’” (John 4:17–18).

When we’re not rooted in Jesus, we have no idea what to look for. Our friend here had men give her attention, maybe even fulfill certain desires that she had (to be loved, to be taken care of, to be seen), but she was never truly satisfied because no man could ever give her what she truly longed for. She was looking for a love that stayed. A love that wasn’t based on emotions and feelings but on commitment and Christ. She was looking for living water. And although she hadn’t yet found it, the Living Water found her.

Here’s what we learn about Jesus.

Jesus will take the unlikely path to pursue you. Because of the cultural hostility that the Jews had toward Samaritans, Jewish people typically didn’t travel through Samaria when going from Judea to Galilee. Culturally, the hate was so real that they took the long route just to avoid the entire town. The tension was also real. But see here that Jesus didn’t take the path most others took. Instead, verse 4 says, “And he had to pass through Samaria.” This was a “had to” not out of a place of obligation or expectation but out of necessity to reach her.

Jesus will take any route He needs to take to get to your heart and your hurts. Not only did He take the unlikely route here, but He also waited for her. We see here that Jesus is willing, able, and eager to wait for us. Just like He was with this woman, He’s abundantly patient and never late for an encounter with His children.

Next, Jesus will break any barrier to pursue you. In that day, it’s important that we understand the role that women played in society. They were seen as the lowest class. On top of being not just a Samaritan, but a Samaritan woman, sister-friend didn’t have a whole lot going for her. But we see here that Jesus wasn’t too concerned with cultural barriers when it came to pursuing those He was after.

“Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink’” (John 4:7). Not only did Jesus speak to her, but He humbled Himself to ask her for something. He knew they were going to have a hard conversation, and He wanted her to know that she had a Savior that wasn’t afraid to get on her level and meet her where she was.

Lastly, Jesus will enter into your mess to pursue you. Are there parts of your life that just feel messy? Unhinged? Falling apart? Me, too. Same for our friend here. She had parts of her life that she would probably do anything to hide. But Jesus wasn’t afraid of those areas. On the contrary, those were the exact areas He was excited to dig into with her.

I’m not proud of this, but I’m a pretty messy person by nature. I remember when Ryan and I were engaged, so many people would warn me that living with a boy is messy and that I better prepare myself. I rarely commented back, but I always remember thinking, Actually, I feel bad for Ryan that he has to live with me. Yes, I am the messy one in our marriage.

One of the main messes that I make is what I like to call “my piles.” If you are a pile maker, you know what these are. They are piles of clothes. After trying on multiple outfits a day, I will form a pile in a corner of our room instead of hanging those clothes up. It’s become a running joke because if Ryan sees a pile, he can’t understand how it could be anything but dirty clothes. But with lots of patience, I explain to him that there is a difference between a clean pile and a dirty pile. In fact, most of my piles are clean! Men, right?! Just kidding! It’s a real problem, and I’m working on it 😉

I think sometimes we also compartmentalize the messy part of our lives. We have the “not so bad piles,” the “dirty piles,” and even the “looks clean on the outside piles.” But at the end of the day, a pile is a pile. And Jesus came to enter into our piles, no matter how dirty or put together they may seem. If something isn’t where He calls it to be, He will enter in and address it—even the piles we’re afraid for anyone to see.

That’s what He did here with our friend at the well. He wasn’t afraid to have the hard conversations about her relationships. He addressed the reality of her past without judgment or heaping shame onto her. Just like her pile of past broken relationships, we each have hard areas that Jesus is sitting, waiting, and ready to be welcomed in.

Friend, Jesus will never enter a situation that He doesn’t fully plan to redeem. His pursuit always has purpose. Let Him into the hard piles, the messy piles, and even the piles you’ve come to accept, and watch what He’ll do. This is the best kind of loved. Fully seen, fully known, fully loved.

Morgan Krueger is a Jesus follower, wife, mother, and author who found her voice connecting with women seeking freedom from the brokenness of past shame. Passionate about the redemption found in following Jesus, Morgan aims to keep that at the center of all she does. Morgan works at Faithfully Restored, a ministry that offers the hope of Jesus in the midst of suffering. Her first book, Goodbye Hiding, Hello Freedom: Trading Your Shame for Redemption in Jesus, releases in September 2024.

In her downtime, you can find Morgan enjoying the significance of the mundane, including spending time with her two sons, encouraging women through words, and watching British baking shows with her husband, Ryan, in Franklin, TN. You can connect with her on Instagram @morganwkrueger and at morgankrueger.com.

The post His Pursuit Always Has Purpose first appeared on Live Original.