To encounter an experience of that which is God

The gospels are full of people. They are full of “stories” – true events which occurred in history depicting the life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. They are full of encounters. People encountering one another….encountering the son of God – coming across and interacting and learning from (encounter) Jesus. People encountered the love of God and stared into the mirrors of their souls (and still do….due to these encounters today) because of these encounters which then allowed them a divine experience that would forever mark them.
Forever marked by the love of God.
That sounds like an experience that many would hope for. I believe I hope for this type of encounter on a regular basis. I also believe that I am a part of this divine experience via my relationship with Christ on a daily scale. Every. Day.  Today, I will load up a bus of high school friends and drive into YL camp at Crooked Creek Ranch in Fraser, CO. Our hope is that they might see Jesus in that place. That they might be forever marked by His life and love and pursuit of their hearts.
That which is God.  Look around….."that which is God” is absolutely everywhere. We will see that today as we drive in to camp. The rocky mountains and the snow covered masses of rock and hills…..deep crevices and towering trees with run off streams and droves of wildlife all in one symphonic chorus chanting and singing every mile along the way.  It’s like a scene from “The Polar Express” where the boy receives a bell from one of Santa’s reindeer on Christmas Eve. It was the moment all had waited for….the moment of celebration for Christmas to be here….for all cheer and joy to be ecstatic and abounding.  Yet, the boy could hear nothing as all around him were shouting for joy and chanting along with the bells of Christmas – this boy could hear no bells.  He did not believe in Santa.  Then, in this beautiful moment, he whispers, “I believe….I. Believe. I believe!!” and everything changes….Immediately, Santa shows up behind him and said, “What did you say?”  See, once he believed, everything changed.  He saw and heard things differently than before and consequently lived (we are lead to believe) his life differently because of his encounter and experience at Christmas.
What am I saying? My hope is for my high school friends to experience the love of God. To hear the bells chiming together as they look around at YL camp and hear the story of the gospel of Christ told anew in their hearts and minds. That they would believe, perhaps for the first time, and would then begin to experience God and His love in massive ways such they would never ever be the same. How could they be!

“Only the one who has experienced it can know what the love of Jesus Christ is.  Once you have experienced it, nothing else in the world will seem more beautiful or desirable.” (The Signature of Jesus by Brennan Manning)

Here we go……get excited. Wish you could see it!
To encounter an experience of that which is God….

Blessings,
-ao