A conflicting desire…

This morning as I was having a conversation with Jesus, as usual I became conflicted and confused between desiring Him to come snatch us all away and my desire for Him to, spiritually speaking, come into this fallen world to rule and to reign. And yes I do know He rules and reigns in us and through us, but this world feels like abandoning at times, don’t you think? It reminds me of an old commercial jingle “Calgon, take me away!” The commercial shows how a woman who is overwhelmed by life escapes it all by taking a hot bath filled with Calgon bath beads. Let’s escape this present reality, shall we? It would be nice for Him to come in that manner and relieve us from all our present troubles.

Then on the other hand I think of how I really do want Him to come set things right, and to pick Justice up off the streets and set her in her rightful place again! I want this nation to survive the upcoming election and continue being the shining light on the hill, a beacon of hope for all the world! My heart goes to the many scriptures that testify we are destined for the throne, to rule and reign with Christ, and how He is coming back for a mature bride whose heart and desire is fully for Him. I think of how this life is a learning experience to prepare the bride for her future role, and how He desires to empower her, and how many things are in heaven waiting for us to reach up and pull down into our reality here when we are yielded in partnership with Him.

But that would involve each one of us taking our rightful places and not only overcoming but conquering the current evil and working to re-establish a place of freedom for future generations. It would mean we would have to embrace all the hard things like unity and maturity and courage, and… oh that Calgon bath is sounding nicer by the moment isn’t it? It can feel very conflicting!

A flash of vision…

In my conversation I felt Him ask me “What do you want”? What do you mean what do I want? Before I could say “I want both”, I heard myself say “I want you to come!!”. He said “I want that, too, more than anything“! Immediately I was filled with emotion as I had a flash vision of how He felt about all of this, and so I will try my best to share with you what I saw and felt.

I saw Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, in anguish. All the feeling, emotion He experienced in those moments when He so fully desired to do the Father’s will – knowing the Father’s heart, knowing how much the Father longed for family, and knowing too that the cross was the only way – and yet Jesus’ soul cried out in anguish because He knew the pain and the hardship of separation He was facing. Yet He overcame!

Flash forward to here in this point of time. The work on the cross is finished. The Son has established redemption and the Father has gained His family, His children, and He has poured out His love on all of us – including all of those who are yet to come into His fold. And Jesus, having gained not only the nations, has won for Himself a bride! The purchase price has been paid, she is now His! He is with the Father once again, preparing for her a dwelling place to be with Him forever. Not just for her to dwell, but for her to LIVE!! For her to live and thrive, for all eternity!

Here we are, the Church, His bride, and we are longing for Him to come. We want Him to come for us! We long to be together with Him in eternity, seated beside Him on His throne. We long for Him to reign both physically and spiritually, for justice to stand strong, and for the evil one to be abolished.

But now, in this moment of history, like in the garden He is once again in a heightened, strong emotional state. He hears our cries, He wants to come and get His bride! He wants to reign and have us reign with Him. But only the Father knows the day and the hour. The Father knows the bride in this moment of time is not yet mature. She is not yet complete. It’s almost like she’s missing her right arm! The Father knows all the souls who are still waiting for redemption, those who enter through the great harvest at the end of the age. He knows the bride is not complete without them.

And so the strong longing and desire of Jesus to come for all of us must wait. He must endure our cries for a little while longer, until she is complete and until she can join together with the Holy Spirit to say COME! Then the Father will look at Jesus and say “Son, go and get Your bride!”.