“Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭73‬:‭23‬-‭26‬

This is a summary of the Christian life, if we want it to be; if we live below the surface of circumstance and seek him with all our hearts. We live in this world of conflict and chaos, fear and grasping, but we don’t have to be controlled by it. We can live a deeper life—the life described in these verses—if we want to.

The problem is, we want God to be all-in for us, but we hold back from being all-in for him. This is a God who loves passionately. Extravagantly. But we shy away from the kind of response that allows us to fully experience the depths of the love we long for.

Its risky, isn’t it—that kind of no-holds-barred living? It can get you sidelined in a world of safe mediocrity. Foolish, our culture labels the one who refuses to hedge her bets but instead loads all her precious eggs into one holy basket.

So we play it safe. Play the religious odds where we surrender just a portion, give just enough of ourselves to feel justified by God and still accepted by the world.

And then we wonder why we still feel empty. Dry. Bored, even.

Here, on the backside of Easter, is a good time to take stock. To revisit the story of a God who gave it all up, exposed and jeered at in a shocking display, for us. For joy, the Bible says.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Hebrews 12:1-3

Joy.

Not reluctantly, not in disappointment, and definitely not for the tarnished accolades of a fading world, did Jesus pour out his life. But for joy.

And to follow his example is his great invitation to us. Not as an interesting hobby, or an ornament just shiny enough to be tasteful. But an all-out, all-in, all-encompassing passion that overrides all reluctance and fear on our way to glory.

Come, for the joy set before us. For the love poured out and the feast prepared. The adventure awaits.