All Radiant

“Now you’ve got my feet on the life path, all radiant from the shining of your face, ever since you took my hand. I’m on the right way.” Psalm 16:11 (The Message)

There are certain people we just can’t wait to hang around with. You come away invigorated by their own enthusiasm for life. Perhaps there is someone you count on to cheer you up when life is darker than a triple espresso. Or, when we are newly in love, we cannot think of what it would be like to be apart for more than a moment. Hours spent together fly by unnoticed.

The fact that we have experienced human relationships like this, so full of expectation and authentic pleasure, can leave us feeling empty when those relationships become few and far between. A life once dense with trusted and affectionate relationships can sometimes turn into a Little House on the Prairie with intimate friendships miles and miles apart.

We are made for relationship. We were created to laugh until our bellies hurt, to cry with the pain of a close friend’s breakup. We were fashioned to dig into deep thoughts about life, the feast of the soul. Inwardly we are mere breathing machines without the connections that make us truly alive.

That is why David is so joyful as He writes about God: “You’ve got my feet on the life path, all radiant from the shining of Your face.” The companionship we deeply desire is ultimately filled by God Himself. Take the “life” we feel after a few hours with a couple of best friends. Remember the laughter and the joy of diving into solving thought problems together and the renewal we feel after being together. Now, multiply that by “always” and add “forever” to its effect upon our soul. Then you will have a hint of what God offers in terms of true involvement with us.

Sometimes we may even wonder if our friend enjoys time together as much as we do. “Is he looking at his watch?” we wonder. “Is she merely putting up with me?” The sweetest moments of life are those moments, hours, or even days when we are both giving and receiving, enjoying each moment fully and without thought of bringing it to an end.

With God, we never need question His desire to be with us, to fellowship with us. (I have avoided using that word, “fellowship”, because it is so associated with meals and “right hands of…” Yet, stripped of its banal and religious overuse, it is a word rich in meaning.) Fellowship, the sharing of lives, equally, openly, without judgment, without self-serving; but the simple joy of breaking of a piece of myself and sharing it with another.

The Scriptures point, over and over again, to a God who is pursuing us, who wants to relate to us, deliver us in our need, live among us, and actually dwell within us! David expresses his joy and pleasure “ever since You took my hand. I am on the right way.”

Jesus Christ made it possible for each of us to have this constant relationship, this “fellowship” with God. Trusting Jesus’ sacrifice for us when He endured the excruciating cross, we are brought back to God Himself. Having walked our own ways, we received Christ into our lives, admitting we needed the cleansing and forgiveness He accomplished. Having risen from the dead three days later, He also empowers us with the same life. We were once dead, and now are beautifully alive, and able to experience the fullness, the joy, the meaning and purpose through constant fellowship with God, every second of the day.

Father God has chased us down; in loving pursuit He hunts our hearts. We may outrun Him, may hide from the trajectory of His love, but sooner or later, if we are honest, we will admit how lonely even the best human friendships have become. Turning where we are, we will see that He was waiting, just a half-step away, the whole time.