VIVID ENCOUNTERS

Vivid: ‘producing powerful feelings or strong, clear images in the mind.’ If something is vivid, it is not easily forgotten or confused – it is clear. Its memory, its image in our minds is something we cannot deny. It is vivid. The bible is full of encounters with Jesus, stories we all know, stories we have all heard. Stories he told, words of truth he spoke, but there is something about when these encounters become vivid to us. Pages that suddenly contain more than an encounter, but something rich and exciting that gives us a clear image of who God is and what he desires for us. Whether that be an actual encounter written about Jesus or when we finally encounter these words for the first time in a vivid way. When we read about his love and suddenly have a clear image in our minds of what that is. Things that are vivid help us to remember; they help us to understand. When we think vivid, we often think bright and colorful. A vivid color. A vivid sunset. When we have a vivid encounter with who God is, it isn’t usually gray or hazy. It’s screaming color to a black and white understanding. Something unmistakeable. Something vivid.

Often something becomes vivid when we can see it or relate it to something we can see. Nature, landscapes, and the process of growth in our world are often themselves echoes of truth that Jesus spoke in the bible, echoes that we have witnessed as the seasons transition from winter to spring. Echoes we have seen and enjoyed from a mountaintop view after a long hike. These echoes are vivid, and they are all around us.

Maybe you’ve had these vivid encounters before, or maybe you are in need of a vivid encounter. An encounter with a God who is alive and not just one that people knew two thousand years ago. One that calls you out onto waves. One that refuses to let you go. One that can assure you it will all be ok because, come what may, he will bring good from it all.

Maybe you’ve never even encountered this God before, but I can promise you that when you do?

It will be vivid.

Unmistakeable.

Unforgettable.