We Need Help

From one of the gates at Boldt Castle - looking out, over the Saint Lawrence....

For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.

Romans 8:19 (NIV)

Yesterday I described a metaphor, based on an outing taken by my family over the weekend. We were on the river. We docked next to a castle, on an island, originally built as a gift from a loving husband to his wife. When she died mid-construction, it broke the man's heart. It broke his will. He abandoned the castle on Heart Island. The unfinished castle suffered through seven decades of neglect, to the elements, to vandalism, deserted by love.

The metaphor?

My husband, daughter and I didn't pay the admission price to go onto the castle grounds to explore. We were on the outside, looking in. It made me consider my life before Jesus, before belief, before grace. It made me think about being on the outside of Christianity and looking in. We stood at the fence, at the gate, at the door, and on the other side? Jesus. Jesus, the ultimate love story.

But there is another metaphor -- from the inside looking out.

Jesus came in the fullness of time to redeem us for all time. This plan existed from the beginning with the Word of Truth. Our Truth came to earth. A seed - one person in one place. And it grew. And it spread. And it still spreads. At first, because of Roman roads, because of common language, because of the political and military structure of the time, because of the dissatisfaction in false gods. Because it was prophesied. Because our God is a mighty God, sovereign, faithful and just. And because our God is a loving God full of grace and wisdom.

The inside looking out. Imagine God's Kingdom in heaven. A mansion with many rooms, prepared and waiting. Waiting for us - yearning for us, the children of the King, to live, to laugh, to love. Waiting for us -- the inside looking out.

And how do we enter?

Our admission is admission. Our admission is belief. Our admission is prayer.

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” 

and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, 

you will be saved. 

For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, 

and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

Romans 10:9-10 (NIV)

It sounds so easy, but sometimes it is the hardest thing. 

Belief that Jesus is Lord means WE aren't Lord.  

It means that we need to give up control.

We need to give up anxiety and worry.

We need to turn fear away.

Jesus can help us.

Admission.

In order to turn fear away, we need to name it, confess it.

Then dismiss it.

Jesus can help us.

We need to set our hearts on His ways - ways of love, forgiveness, compassion, kindness.

Jesus can help us.

In these days of Ferguson and Isis, of Chattanoogas and Charlestons, in these days of entitlement and privilege, of racism and prejudice, of poverty and violence, of fear --- We need to see through His light, what CAN be so that it WILL be.

We need help.

Jesus can help us. 

Linking with Three Word Wednesday, and TellHisStory

Outside Looking In

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, 

I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

Revelations 3:20 (NIV)

The castle commands attention. Look at me! Look at me! Look at my beautifully crafted stone walls, my manicured lawn, my geometrically detailed windows! Did you notice the gateway? A turreted, bridged walk spanning the river? Did you notice the docks and the shops? The yachts and the afternoon cruises? The cameras? The tourists? Located in the heart of this 1000 Island Region, almost directly across the water from riverside hotels and motels with the multi-windowed and balconied views. Look at me!

We stayed on the outside - looking in. And the castle - was on the inside, looking out...

Beautiful. Stunning. Breathtaking. And it has a story... a romantic, sad, love story.

 Beginning in 1900, the Boldt family spent summers in the 1000 Islands at the Boldt Families Wellesley House near Mr. Boldt’s Wellesley Island Farms while 300 workers including stonemasons, carpenters, and artists fashioned the six story, 120 room castle, complete with tunnels, a powerhouse, Italian gardens, a drawbridge, alster tower (children’s playhouse) and a dove cote. Not a single detail or expense was spared.

In January 1904, tragedy struck. Boldt telegraphed the island and commanded the workers to immediately “stop all construction.” Louise had died suddenly. A broken hearted Boldt could not imagine his dream castle without his beloved. Boldt never returned to the island, leaving behind the structure as a monument of his love.     

(http://www.boldtcastle.com/visitorinfo/index.php/about/)

Metaphor commands my thinking.

I remember when I was on the outside, looking in at the greatest love story our world has ever known. I remember when I allowed my disbelief to overcome my faith. I remember yearning for the peace of green pastures and still waters. I remember the feelings of not-deserving; confusion and turmoil. I remember thinking the distance too great, and the path too difficult; the water was too deep and too wide.

For 73 years, the castle and various stone structures were left to the mercy of the wind, rain, ice, snow and vandals. When the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority acquired the property in 1977, it was decided that through the use of all net revenues from the castle operation it would be preserved for the enjoyment of future generations.

Imagine 73 years of neglect.  Imagine the damage to the buildings, to the estate, to the island.

Heart Island. Metaphor.

And now imagine the healing, tender care and meticulous attention. Love on Heart Island.

Jesus healed me. He took my brokenness and made me whole. Once upon a time, I stood on the outside of Him, and looked in. And yet, He is always looking out for the lost, lovingly, with great mercy and grace. Yesterday I was reminded of how very far He has brought me.

He can heal you, too.

Linking with Kelly and Jen