my beautiful friend emily wrote this and i just can't even believe how wonderful. i want every person to ponder these images, so i wanted to post it on here. drink deeply of the beauty, friends!
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"right now, i am imagining the love of God to be a forest. not the gloomy kind of forest, but a forest full of sunshine and colorful trees and the chirping of birds. it’s a vast, endless forest, stretching on into the yellow horizon, crowning the rolling hills with its greenery. one could roam inside for years, for centuries, and never reach the end. one could explore till their feet could take them no further, and still there would be hills left to roll down, oaks yet to climb, birds yet to whistle to, hollowed trees yet to play make believe in, springs of water yet to be drunk dry. yes, the forest of God’s love is infinite, boundless, everlasting. and yet, it is not unknowable. you see, the forest does not have a "no trespassing" sign. the only sign i can see on this forest is that which says, “taste and see.”
yet so often i have merely skirted the outside of these woods. i’ve heard over and over that God’s love is beyond our understanding. i have often seen this statement as a barrier to experiencing God’s love. if i’ll never understand it, should i even try?
it’s as though i were on a walk with God. encountering the vast forest, i ask him, “what are those millions of trees?” and in my faulty imagination, God replies, “you mean those over there? well, that’s my love forest, but it’s beyond your comprehension, you wouldn’t understand. just know that they are there, and that will be enough. let’s go look at something else…” oh, how wrong that is! in truth, i believe God would pick me up, throw me on his shoulders, and declare with shining eyes, “wait till you see this!” yes, i believe He’d usher me into the forest of His love and beg me just to spend my life in the warmth of its sun and the shade of its trees.
the label of infinite love does not mean “do not enter” or “do not explore” or “do not try to understand.” o, no! it is a thrilling invitation, an invitation to come and get lost in the adventure of God’s love. it is an infinite love- we will never reach its end, which means that everyday it is possible to understand His love more and experience it more truly. His love is not unknowable.
oh, taste and see His love for us! o my soul, run freely into His forest. chase the winds whistling through the trees, feel the mossy grass between your toes, make a crown of wild flowers for your hair, and let yourself be lost forever in the forest of God’s love!
and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. ephesians 3:19
taste and see that the LORD is good. oh, the joys of those who take refuge in Him!
psalm 34:8
come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? listen, listen to Me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare. give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to david.
isaiah 55:1-3
yet so often i have merely skirted the outside of these woods. i’ve heard over and over that God’s love is beyond our understanding. i have often seen this statement as a barrier to experiencing God’s love. if i’ll never understand it, should i even try?
it’s as though i were on a walk with God. encountering the vast forest, i ask him, “what are those millions of trees?” and in my faulty imagination, God replies, “you mean those over there? well, that’s my love forest, but it’s beyond your comprehension, you wouldn’t understand. just know that they are there, and that will be enough. let’s go look at something else…” oh, how wrong that is! in truth, i believe God would pick me up, throw me on his shoulders, and declare with shining eyes, “wait till you see this!” yes, i believe He’d usher me into the forest of His love and beg me just to spend my life in the warmth of its sun and the shade of its trees.
the label of infinite love does not mean “do not enter” or “do not explore” or “do not try to understand.” o, no! it is a thrilling invitation, an invitation to come and get lost in the adventure of God’s love. it is an infinite love- we will never reach its end, which means that everyday it is possible to understand His love more and experience it more truly. His love is not unknowable.
oh, taste and see His love for us! o my soul, run freely into His forest. chase the winds whistling through the trees, feel the mossy grass between your toes, make a crown of wild flowers for your hair, and let yourself be lost forever in the forest of God’s love!
and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. ephesians 3:19
taste and see that the LORD is good. oh, the joys of those who take refuge in Him!
psalm 34:8
come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? listen, listen to Me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare. give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to david.
isaiah 55:1-3
(found this illustration here)
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