journey onWord with us

“…the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you”
Romans 8:11 (NIV)
“…will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do”
John 14:12 (ESV)

Do I really believe those words?  And if I quickly answer “Yes”, how do I define the word believe?  Paul states that I have the same Spirit and power that raised Jesus living inside of me.  Jesus emphatically states that if I believe in Him, I will do what He did, and even “greater” things.  I don’t know about you, but my life rarely lives up to the potential and promise contained in those truths.

I was reminded of this recently when I heard again, the story of a man who had visited a flea market and bought an old painting for $4.  He bought the painting not for the artwork, but for the beautiful antique frame.  When he got it home, he began the careful work of removing the painting.  But alas, not far into his work, the frame broke.  It was just too old and fragile to hold up.  I am sure you can imagine the man’s grave disappointment … but the story doesn’t end there.  Because as he was doing the careful work of removing the canvas from the frame, the man discovered something quite unexpected.  Hidden between the canvas and backing was an original copy of the Declaration of Independence!  At the time of its author, there were 500 copies made of the Declaration.  To that date, only 24 copies were known to exist.  This man had just found number 25!  He later decided to auction the Declaration, and the opening bid was $800,000.  The winning bid was $2.5 million!

The most memorable parts of this story seem to be the grave disappointment of the broken frame, the joyous discovery of a treasured piece of American history, and the amazing profit margin of an afternoon at a flea market.  But just as the man did with the painting, let’s peel back the top layer and reveal the immeasurable hidden treasure.  The “picture” I see is of the family or families who had that painting hanging in their home.  Passing by it, sitting next to it, staring at it, and never knowing the amazing treasure that was there, but hidden from view.

I think that painting is symbolic of my life and the powerful truth that the Spirit of God lives inside of me.  How many times do I read the words of the Scripture above, and say “Yes” with my head and not my heart?  How long will I go hanging on the wall, showing an average painting to the world around me?  Jesus longs to be that man who breaks your frame, removes the outer canvas and reveals the treasure that lies within.  He longs to be the one who free’s me to be who He made me to be, and to go do those greater works that He has planned for me.

You’ve probably already noticed I spent the entire last paragraph referring to, and challenging myself.  How about you?  Many of you are believers, and will identify with the words of my heart.  Some of you, however, may not.  To you, I would love to talk to you about Jesus and a life and truth that’s immeasurably more valuable than even the most treasured national artifact.  Email us.  Don’t settle for a beautiful frame, seek the treasure.