THE LIFE-CHANGING POWER OF A COLLISION
Have you ever collided with someone? I’m talking hard-core, head-on, did-not-see-that-coming collision. Maybe you weren’t watching where you were going in the hallway at school and ran into another person. Books and backpacks go flying and body parts smart from the pain of contact. After apologies are exchanged, you both go your separate ways, still wincing in pain and flushed with embarrassment. Collisions like this tend to be unforgettable. Why? Because colliding full-speed with another person hurts, it’s humiliating, and you most definitely learn to always watch where you’re going! Now after considering the consequences of a person-on-person collision, would you say I was crazy if I told you that we should intentionally pursue a hard-core, full-steam-ahead collision with someone?
Okay, so I guess I am crazy, because I want to experience that kind of intense collision with Jesus! I want my life to crash into His, so that I can experience Him in ways beyond what I can comprehend. And you know what? It will be messy, and it will be painful, and it will be seriously humbling, but it will also be beautiful. A great Christian thinker once said about Jesus, “When our depravity meets His divinity, it’s a beautiful collision.” I can think of several characters from the New Testament who would whole-heartedly second the incredible truth of this statement: Saul in Acts 9, Zacchaeus in Luke 19, the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4, and the sinful woman who anoints the feet of Jesus in Luke 7… All experienced a divine collision with Jesus that changed their lives radically. All experienced the transforming power of God’s love, grace, and mercy as shown through the person of Christ. So how can you and I experience this kind of life-altering collision with Jesus?
First, we must run to Him as fast as we can! Too often we’re actually running away from Jesus. The reality is that whatever we’re running to won’t ever satisfy or fulfill us like Jesus can. So let’s stop running after empty, meaningless stuff (like popularity, image, sex, wealth, etc.) and start running to Jesus!
Second, we must run into Him as hard as we can. This is where it gets messy, because at the point of collision all of our junk, our brokenness, and our sin will be strewn all over at the feet of Jesus. But it will be in our moments of complete spiritual brokenness and transparency that Jesus will pick up the pieces of our shattered, dead, past-life, and He will shape and mold them into a new, vibrant, and spiritually whole life!
Third, we must run with Him as long as we can. The word that comes to mind here is perseverance. Following Jesus faithfully for the rest of our lives isn’t always going to be easy, but He will always be there right beside us, giving us the strength and courage to run this race we call life in a way that is honoring and pleasing to Him. The best part of all? When we cross that finish line, Jesus will be there to greet us with open arms, ready to say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant!”
GO DEEPER: Read Hebrews 12:1-3
