What’s going on in Asbury, Or is it my Life?

If you live in Christian circles you are likely aware of the revival at Asbury University. If not, maybe this is new. In case you wondered, I live in Christian circles, and I like revivals. Because I believe that God works in this world through the changed lives of those who respond to his call. So, I’m following what is going on at Asbury and I wanted to share some of my thoughts.

What is going on in Asbury University is affecting me in ways that I didn’t expect. As much as I like the idea of revival, oftentimes it seems like something that is happening somewhere else. But as I was reading some accounts of what was happening, one statement came alive, it was like something flooded over me as I realized what was going on there. Why, because I think it happened to me as well.

A theology professor at Asbury Seminary, Professor McCall, described it like this, “what we are experiencing now—inexpressibly deep sense of peace, wholeness, holiness, belonging, and love—It is only the smallest of windows into the life for which we are made.”

That description, man, that description. It is such a perfect way to express what happened on that Sunday after my stroke, there I experience an inexpressible deep sense of peace. At that time I couldn’t talk very well, and I wasn’t writing at all. Since then, I have written about this a couple of times. But I couldn’t really express what was in my heart. I guess that’s why it’s called, “inexpressible”. The words weren’t there.

But I recall saying that the peace was so real that nothing else mattered, and I felt like I got a glimpse into heaven. What Professor McCall said, inexpressible peace, and a small window into the life for which we are made, was a description of what happened to me.

Thank you Lynda Hostetler who posted this on facebook. It was written by Madison Pierce, and he quoted Professor McCall. I’m not sure if a footnote is required, I think I got everyone. Anyways, thank you for giving me the words to express what happened in my heart. I didn’t expect the emotions that came as I read these words. 

I can’t imagine what is happening in the hearts of all those students as they experience the inexpressibly deep sense of peace, wholeness, holiness, belonging, and love. But I know what it did to me. I think those moments changed my life.  That experience that Sunday morning lasted for maybe ten minutes. What is happening in Asbury, for several weeks, for thousands of students. Man, that is a big deal. Maybe it will change the world. 

Sometimes it seems like we want revival as the goal, the end game. But I wonder if it is more like a door. A door that is passed as we follow Jesus. I like the experiences that I have encountered in my journey, where I feel God’s presence, those mountaintop experiences. But what happens after, after the emotions, after the high that passed, that is where the work begins. The work that God wants to do in my life, and that work that he has for me to do as well. It isn’t the end game, more of a beginning.

I wonder if that is where the world changes. As we respond to the call as it comes to us, maybe with an inexpressibly deep sense of peace and love, we need to realize what it is, a call, a call to a changed life that lasts after the emotions fade.

I just watched the movie “Jesus Revolution”. It is about a revival that happened in the 70’s right here in my neighborhood, Southern California. I was just a kid when it was happening, but I can recall going to concerts at Calvary Chapel, and then later Harvest during those years that followed. Those years that followed after the revival was over. Those years mattered. They mattered to me. So, I’m wondering if Jesus Revolution wasn’t about the revival but about what followed. Since then, there have been 1000 calvary chapels planted. The response of those whose lives are changed, changed the world. What happened on the beaches of California, lives on today. It is still changing the world.

I long to experience again the amazing deep peace that I experienced that day. That glimpse into heaven.  And while those emotions have not lasted, the peace is still there. And the call has remained, the door stands open. A door into the work that God has for me to do.  A journey through the highs and lows of life, honestly I am hoping for some more highs. But whatever happens, I had that glimpse, a glimpse into the inexpressibly deep sense of peace and love that we will live in forever.