Undistracted

One of the things I have struggled with recently has been the abundance of distractions crowding in to claim my attention. Partly I know this is my own human weakness, and partly I believe it has been a message from the Spirit to alert me to the struggles faced by the Church right now. With all that is going on around us I believe the Church are in a real Martha season, but with a clear call & invitation to become like Mary.
More than once recently I have heard the call from Heaven to the Church, “you are worried and bothered and anxious about so many things; but only one thing is necessary” (Luke 10:41-42)
And as we know, Martha’s sister Mary was the one who had chosen the only necessary thing. I like the way the Passion Translation puts it: “Mary has discovered the one thing most important by choosing to sit at my feet. She is undistracted, and I won’t take this privilege from her.”
The key right now, the invitation before us – is to be undistracted.

And as I prayed through the distractions this morning I became aware of the overwhelming presence of Jesus, and the invitation to gaze into His eyes of fire, to burn away all the feeble distractions. Just as the distractions were not just in me but representative of the Church, so I believe is true about the invitation – yes it’s for me as an individual (and I pray with all my heart for Him to help me to never look away from His gaze), but it’s also for the Church – the Bride of Christ who has captured the gaze of her Beloved.

And I received a vision/ moving picture of a bride getting ready on her wedding day. She was surrounded by mirrors, fussing over her appearance – dress, hair, make-up, jewellery etc. She kept changing her mind and was never satisfied, but eventually made it to church where she waited in what is traditionally the groom’s place in western weddings, waiting at the altar. But she wasn’t waiting calmly or even joyfully – she was distracted by the building, looking around to make sure everything was ‘right’ for the wedding. But then came the noise of the door opening, and as the Bridegroom appeared she turned her gaze to see Him. As soon as she did so the setting changed and it became just the two of them in a beautiful garden (the building had been irrelevant). She was looking into His eyes, which were burning with love (His irises were fire), and she saw her reflection in them. But her appearance had changed – all the unnecessary frills and adornments that she had fussed over had been stripped away. She was beautifully and simply dressed with a pure white gown (of righteousness) and a pure gold crown (of royalty). And I heard the Spirit say “There is no veil” It was just the bride and groom, gazing into each other’s eyes. That is the invitation from Heaven for us all.

Right now there are so many distractions around the Church, and I don’t believe this is likely to change. We just have to choose: Martha or Mary? Are we going to be distracted by appearance, trying to clothe ourselves appropriately and applying make-up and jewellery to improve our looks, as if we could in any way make ourselves acceptable or more attractive to God? Are we going to keep obsessing over buildings and structures, as if God’s plan depended on them? Or are we going to turn our gaze to Jesus and let His eyes of fire consume us?

There are many things that God is working on Earth right now. Many people are being positioned and released into their divine destiny. We are hearing God’s heartbeat for the mission, and it’s exciting. We love Him and want to serve Him, rightly. But more than that, deeper and stronger than anything else, is His heartbeat for His Bride. Jesus ascended to Heaven to prepare a place for His Bride, and He is coming back to get her soon. May we be found ready and waiting, with fire in our eyes that reflects His own. May we not be distracted by everything that needs doing, but aware of the privilege of the invitation to sit at His feet and gaze into His eyes of love, where all distractions are burned away, and it is just about us and Him.