Undeserved Love?

There are some things that I was taught as a Christian that I don’t think are true. I think they actually hinder being a disciple of Jesus and miss the mark in regards to love and grace. One of the things that I have been taught to believe is that I don’t deserve God’s love. I think this is a common teaching meant to inspire humility, but I think in many cases it just feeds into a shame cycle.

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Redeeming Regrets

Have you ever watched a movie or TV show where you’ve felt a sense of dread or uncomfortableness? Maybe there is a movie or show that you return to, but there are moments in the storyline where the thought comes to your mind, “If only they never would’ve done this, everything would’ve been okay.” I really like The Office, and that show is filled with those types of moments – especially with the boss, Micheal Scott. There are moments so uncomfortable that I cringe. Here’s the thing, though…I’ve lived and participated in moments like that. In all likelihood, we all have.

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Back to the Core

We’ve all heard the trope that people are like onions: we have layers. We aren’t one dimensional, but we have multiple different facets of who we are. Recently, I thought of this a little different.

In the beginning, God created people and He saw that it was good. People were a good creation created for a good, Holy purpose. Even more, people were created in the image of God. At our core, we are image bearers. Something happened, though.

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Looking Out the Well

Silence as a writer builds up. As it builds up, its paralyzing. The last two years have made it worse. Even though I felt things welling up inside me to write, I stayed silent. I was scared, and there were voices that were already saying what I was feeling. So, I figured I didn’t need to just be another voice. I could just listen and be encouraged that someone else was stepping up to the plate. In some ways, I was content to watch from the sidelines. However, I still felt like my silence was somehow wrong.

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The Darkness Has Not Overcome

Happy Easter, or Resurrection Sunday if you prefer! This is the Sunday that Christians the world over, no matter what denomination or political affiliation, celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. Its a reminder that no matter how dark things get, hope lives.

I’ve been thinking about John 1:5 this morning – “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out.” (John 1:5 GNT)

2020 and the beginning of 2021 has been pretty dark in America. Over half a million lives have been lost to Covid-19. I’ve heard the statistics and the percentages, but I want to let that number sink in…half a million family members, friends, and co-workers lost their lives in America. Worldwide, we’re looking at almost 3 million people who have died. Put in spiritual terms, almost 3 million people created in the image of God are no longer living on this earth. I’m sure some knew God, but others didn’t.

It also feels like we are more politically divided than ever. Maybe we aren’t, but it sure seems like we are.

On the surface, it sure feels like darkness is winning. Not just sickness, but the divisiveness, anger, resentment, and just feelings of not being safe whether physically, emotionally, or spiritually have been very present and real things. I fasted from social media over Lent. I’m seriously wondering if I’ll ever log in again, or if I’ll shut down my accounts. It has been mentally, socially, and spiritually freeing for me. Without Facebook, I feel like I’ve been able to love and live much more freely.

And yet, there’s the reality that light shines in the darkness. There is a tension to live with. Do I disengage with Facebook and Twitter and remain silent and remove my account, or do I instead point people to the hope that I want to unswervingly profess? It’s a similar tension that I face everyday – do I disengage with the world, or do I engage it and show the love of Jesus through acts of grace, mercy, and self-sacrificial love?

This tension has been around for a long time. The tension was there when Jesus taught. On one side, you had the religious elite. They tried to follow the Law to a tee, and yet their hearts grew harder in the process. They were focused on the “set apart-ness” of the word Holy. On the other side were the cast-aways. These people weren’t permitted into the temple. They were the sick, the addicted, the tax collecters, and the sinners. In other words, the religious elite had knowledge of the light and the outcasts needed the light. The elite were more worried about being set apart, or else their own personal “holiness”, that they weren’t willing to share the light with those that needed it.

Then there is Jesus. He went to those who needed the light and gave it to them. He healed people and gave them hope. He gave some new names. People became his followers and students, and after His resurrection a movement started that preached a hope that is like spiritual antibodies. This hope would fight against our darkness inside. It fights against a type of sickness that we have even if we don’t know we have it.

In the realm of sin and death, we all test positive. Whether we find ourselves in church every Sunday, haven’t been to church in years, are actively running from God, or we just don’t believe, our need is the same. We need this deep hope. We all need Jesus.

The truth is, there is darkness in the world. Some of us may have found that our friendships and relationships have significantly changed over the past year. Change often hurts. However, change doesn’t void hope. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness hasn’t overtaken it. Whether online or in person, I want to share and spread this light. When we choose to spread the light, life can only get brighter.