Vine and Branches

In love, in love, in life, in love
in you, in love, in death, my love
in time, in love, in place, in love
in form, in love, in death, My love
My God, My love, My life, My love,
is yours, My love, My bride, My love
this cross, My love, is Mine, My love
to bear, My love, to die, My love
this cup, My love, this bread, My love
My life, My love, is yours, My love
come drink, My love, My blood, My love
My life, My love, in death, My love
My god, My love, My life, My love
is yours, My love, My bride, My love
this cross, My love, is Mine, My love
to bear, My love, it's time, My love

--Jon Foreman

Sorry for the lack of updates. Between family vacations and moving/adjusting to BCOM, time has been limited. But, thanks to Holly pushing me about it (she's awesome!), I am finally updating again. Hooray!

So I have finally made it to BCOM! I arrived in Bloomington, Minnesota over two weeks ago. The trip from Charlotte to Bloomington was actually pretty fun, despite being alone. It gave me a lot of time to think and pray about what God is going to do with me at BCOM. And it was cool to drive through several different states. With the exception of Indiana (the whole state smells like cow manure!), it was a blast!

So now I'm here in Minnesota, a place full of unknowns for me. Aside from Holly, who is also at BCOM, I know no one here. And I have no idea how I will react to the freakishly cold weather here. I mean it's only early September and I'm already wearing jackets! People still go to the beach in Charleston during September! It's definitely going to be an adjustment.

I've met a lot of cool people so far. My class at BCOM is about 50 students large. It's a small but very diverse group of people. It's going to be fun getting to know these people!

While I've been here, God has been slowly revealing His love for me. Over the SOP, I learned how to dive deep into God and His Word. Here at BCOM, I'm learning how to simply love Him. Jesus said the first and most important commandment is to love God with everything we are. If we do that, then we don't have to do anything else, because it will all fall into place. Growing up in the southern evangelical background, this concept is pretty new to me.

I think that has been a hindrance to me all my life. Growing up in Baptist churches and going to a Baptist school skewed my view of God. I saw Him as a distant overseer who wanted us to follow His rules or else He would punish us. That's a hard person to love. So while I had a grudging respect for God, I never truly loved Him.

But now I know better. Now I'm falling in love with Him. Now there's a reason for my worship. I love Him... because He first loved me. I just finished reading a book called Boy Meets Girl. While the book is about godly relationships and courtship, there was a chapter in the book that focused on the cross. On pages 174-176, the author cites another book called When God Weeps. it's a passage that demonstrates in a powerful way what Jesus truly experienced on the cross. It wasn't the pain of the nails or of the suffocation that makes the sacrifice. It was the fact that Jesus, the Son of God, God Himself, took every single sin of every single human upon Himself. He took the wrath of God upon Himself so that we could live. That is love.