Adoration, & 24 Hours of Prayer

Luke 7:37-38, 50
And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that [Jesus] was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment... And he said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

Last Thursday my church held 24 Hours of Prayer & Fasting.  I was part of the onset, up from midnight til dawn before catching an hour of sleep and going to class.  Class all day, including finishing a paper, then another hourlong nap before joining those in prayer for the last five hours at the church.

That morning, I fell asleep when reading from my prayer journal laying down, and it hit me in the face. That night, when things were wrapping up, I thought I would pray for a couple more minutes.  When I woke up, half and hour had gone by and I literally could not stand up.  I tried so hard, I'm serious, but my legs had fallen asleep!  I felt like I was in a scene straight out of Bambi...

Friday I still had a headache from lack of sleep, food, and hydration.  And it was totally worth it.  Sitting in that quiet chapel with good friends trickling in and out, singing, bowing, kneeling, weeping, laughing--it was pure, unadulterated Joy.

I'm serious about my Joy.

In the previous post, I mentioned that I had been brought up before the church to explain a skit that my college group does.  It was "merely" a fun skit, meant for laughter.  When I was done, my preacher then asked, "So there was no point?"  I stepped back up to the microphone and said:

"It is a shadow of the Joy we will have in Heaven."

I mentioned previously my struggle with Pride, and this was certainly one of those moments--wishing to bask in the rays of sunshine coming from people's praise of my witty and "deep" reply.  Thank God, I admitted that I stole the idea completely from C. S. Lewis.  Foree had seen the skit as silly; Lewis would have replied to him like this:

"I do not think that the life of Heaven bears any analogy to play or dance in respect to frivolity...  Dance and game are frivolous, unimportant things down here; for 'down here' is not their natural place.  Here, they are a moment's rest from the life we were placed here to live.  But in this world everything else is upside down.  That which, if it could be prolonged here, would be a truancy, is likest that which in a better country is the End of ends.  Joy is the serious business of Heaven."

I felt like basking in the heat from people's praise, but it was only a shadow, and it wasn't directed where it was supposed to be--toward God.  Even in crediting C. S. Lewis for the idea, to my shame I did not direct people's attention to God myself; I can only hope the Spirit did.  Because the things that we call "pleasures" are "shafts of the Glory" that strike our senses.  God's glory IS our Joy, a Son-beam striking us until we praise and worship and adore His Most Holy Name (Romans 5:2).

That's why the woman was weeping in Luke 7.  That's why she cleaned Christ's feet.  That's why she anointed Him.  Being in the Presence, the Glory, of the God-man, she became acutely aware of two things--His righteousness, which showed her complete brokenness, and His merciful Love, which saved and cleaned and sanctified and justified her.  And she had no choice to worship Him, especially through tears.

That's the thing about Joy.  It's not a happy pill.  It can hurt.  But it's a heart-ache that is purely God changing us from the inside out, creating His life in us that leads us into Adoration.  We are saved by faith, but we adore because, when we come into contact with who God is, we have no choice.  To thank Him for what He's done.  To praise Him for who He is.  Regardless of whatever dirt or baggage or guilt we feel in us.

"For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, 'Abba! Father!'  The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God..."--Romans 8:15-16

The Spirit bears witness.  God Himself bears witness to God that we are His, so who are we to say we are not good enough?  He has lifted us up into His presence.  "Heaven drew earth up into it."  And so we adore.