Bopping to the Beat on the Back of the Harley
A couple weeks ago I was on my way home from TN, riding on the back of the Harley, ear buds in, listening to worship music when a song began to play. It had a really engaging rhythm and I began to bop on the back of the bike, listening to the lyrics, worshipping and talkin’ to God. Below is a snippit of what was taking place.
“I give up trying to earn Your love, I just look above, up to You. (Yes Lord, Your gift of salvation is all I need. Thank you!) My desire is to see Your fire, Growing even higher than before. (Oh yes Father, set my heart on FIRE!!) Because You are good, beyond measure, (Oh YES, so GOOD!) My heart longs to give You pleasure. (Oh yes, may my life be pleasing to You Father!) You fulfill all my longing, (Uh huh, You are all I need) And all my life I will sing: (Yes indeed…I’m singing!!!!) God I love You and all You do, (Yes I do!!) Your joy lives inside and does me good, (Yes it does!!) Can I have more of You?” (HUH?!!…”Can I have more of You?…Hmmmmm)
I have to say that I didn’t hear any more of the lyrics from that point on. I got stuck on that phrase. “Can I have more of You?” I began to ponder. Is that possible? Can I have “more of Jesus”?
If that’s possible, then that means, when I accepted Christ, God gave me an insufficient amount of Himself; and I know that’s not true. I’ve continued to work that phrase over in my heart and mind these past few weeks, and I’ve come to the conclusion that, while it’s not possible for me to have any more of Jesus today than the day He came to live inside of me, it IS possible for Jesus to have more of ME. It IS possible for the Spirit of God to have more control in my life. It IS possible for me to love God more.
I’ve been meditating on that thought and praying, “God, show me how to love You more”. And one of our conversations went something like this…
“God, thank You so much that when I accepted You into my life, you held NOTHING back from me. I love You so much Father. Please show me how to love You more.”
“Do you mean that, Daughter?”
“Yes, Lord. I do.”
“Do you understand what You are asking, child?”
“Well, I thought I did; but You are making me wonder…”
“If you desire to love Me more, answer this question for me. ‘Is there anything or anyone you love more than you love Me?’”
“No Lord. I love You above all else.”
“Daughter, I know that ‘sounds’ like the right answer; but you and I both know that’s not true. I know your desire to be more like My Son is real. I know your desire to love Me more is authentic. But there’s some business we need to take care of before that can happen. I need you to answer a question for Me. Are you willing to do some hard work?”
“Yes Lord. I am…I think. (I paused realizing the implications of this.) No, I am…I am, really.”
“Ok Daughter. Meditate on this…and listen to the whisper of my Spirit within you. Do as He tells you. Are you willing?”
“Yes, I am willing.”
“Alright then. Here’s the question…..If you asked Me to take away anything in your life that you love more than you love Me, what would you have left?”
So I’ve been pondering, praying, and sometimes pouting. Doing business with God is hard. I mean really hard. And it hurts. BUT the freedom and peace that is slowly filling my heart is sooooooooooo worth the pain.
And to think that all of this took place because of one line, in a song, on the back of a bike, on the way from TN to PA.
God is so good.