East to the West.

Last night, I had a very strange dream. I cried in my dream. I know, that's a huge surprise for many of you. And in case you were wondering, yes I have cried before. But let me explain what's more strange than me crying in a dream.

I can't quite explain what was happening in my dream. I don't know where I was, and I don't know what was happening. The only thing I remember is that I was crying and hearing the words "I love you". I don't remember the voice. However, I knew it was God who was speaking to me.

Many of you will write this off as some "religious" crazy thing. But I just want to remind you that you are loved. I believe that when you truly experience and understand God's love for you, there's nothing you can do but break down. Just hearing and experience those three words in a dream made me feel so good. I woke up in the morning feeling so good and victorious.

As I woke up, I started randomly singing the lyrics to a song. The song was "East to the west" by Casting Crowns. The song is about God's love for mankind.

"For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." - Psalm 103:11-12

I want to point out one misunderstanding about "fearing" God. Judah Smith puts "fear" in a good perspective. Judah interprets "fearing" God not as "terror" but in "awe". God doesn't want you to be terrorized by Him. He wants you to be in awe of His goodness and His love for you.

How far is the east from the west? 
No really. How far is it? Jefferson Bethke put it in terms like this. We all know how far north and south you can go. The ends of the north and south are at the poles of the earth. Once you past the north pole, you start going south and vice versa. However, how do you know when you've reached the end of going west? You can't. It's infinite.

In the same way, God has removed his wrath and our transgressions on us, infinitely. That means we have been eternally forgiven. We are infinitely loved.

God had this written long before Jesus came. God wrote "... as far as the east is from the west" for a reason. It's clever isn't it? That's God for you.