The slightly sarcastic saying goes, “I can do all things- through a verse taken out of context.” We Christians love slogans especially verses that give us that extra boost to keep going when life gets hard. Philippians 4:13 is one of those.
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” NKJ
While there are many encouraging promises in Scripture of strength to overcome adversity, I think this passage, when read in context, is pointing a different direction. I belong to a church that still does around the table Bible Study’s on Wednesday evening. It is one of my favorite things we do. Last week we were looking at this passage.
Paul had been commending the Philippian church for their recent gift to help provide for him in prison. Then he says the following:
“Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
What Paul is saying is that he can be CONTENT in whatever situation- because Christ gives him strength.
He can be brought low- because Christ gives him strength.
He can abound- because Christ gives him strength.
He can have plenty and abundance- because Christ gives him strength.
He can endure hunger and need- because Christ gives him strength.
The strength that Christ gives him is that his life circumstances don’t matter!
Now in case you are like me and are feeling you can never reach this level of faith, remember Paul says that he has LEARNED this level of trust. A lifetime of holding tenaciously to the nail-scarred hand that had knocked him off his horse as a pompous young Pharisee had taught him strength is found in Christ alone!
In Christ alone, my hope is found He is my light, my strength, my song This Cornerstone, this solid ground Firm through the fiercest drought and storm What heights of love, what depths of peace When fears are stilled, when strivings cease My Comforter, my All in All Here in the love of Christ I stand.
Bible Study discussions at our church on Wednesday nights are open discussions. We look at the scripture from all angles and interpretations. Last night, we were in Exodus discussing the Sabbath rulings given to the Hebrew people. Okay, so it’s not the most exciting topic, but it led me to a Scripture I don’t think I have ever really considered. Matthew 12 tells the story of Jesus and his guys walking through a grainfield on the Sabbath. The boys were hungry and started helping themselves, only to be immediately jumped by the Pharisees, who were always lingering nearby. Jesus reminds them that even their greatest of all time, King David, had broken some rules. Priests also worked on the Sabbath in the temple and were not condemned. Then he makes the following statement:
“6 I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”
Wow! It just hit me differently this time. How often, from a conservative Evangelical background, have we told people that they needed to “sacrifice” their Sunday work to please God? Chic-Fil-A has become a conservative icon for that very reason. How often have we condemned the “guiltless” who, for whatever reason, had to work on Sunday? My point is not that we should all dump the Saturday or Sunday observance of the Sabbath and go get a second job. God instituted the day of rest as a gift of restoration because we need it! Rather, that we line up with the Pharisees when we insist on religious rule conformity and forget to give mercy to those who are struggling.
Jesus then gives an object lesson. He goes into the synagogue, where a man needs healing. Of course, the Pharisees attack again with questions regarding the lawfulness of his healing on Sabbath. I like that their motives are clearly stated “so that they might accuse him.” Jesus responds that even they would help an animal in danger on the Sabbath. His obvious conclusion is: “Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other.” Their obvious conclusion was that he was a dangerous radical. ‘But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.” Matthew continues describing Jesus’ ministry and then quotes one of my favorite prophetic descriptions of the mercy and compassion he revealed:
“This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets; a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory; and in his name the Gentiles will hope.” Oh Lord of the Sabbath, give us your gentle hands of mercy! Still, our harsh Pharisaical voices that want to quarrel and cry aloud about our rights and righteousness. Forgive us for the times when our rules kept us from healing and feeding the hungry on the Sabbath.
Does anyone else remember this prayer? I’m sure there are variations, but the version I remember goes as follows:
Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. Guide me safely through the night, and wake me with the morning light. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.
I remember repeating it as a child at night, but I don’t recall teaching it to my children. Why?
Well, it’s a bit dark…all that dying in your sleep stuff. Not exactly the thought you want to implant in your child’s mind to send them into peaceful dreams.
However, I have been drawn back to it recently at this strange phase of my life. For a couple years, I have been dealing with a heart condition diagnosed as microvascular coronary vasospasms. It is not something that can be surgically fixed; it has to be managed with medication. Unfortunately, the condition keeps catching up to the medication. The bottom line is that a severe heart spasm can cause a heart attack and kill me. The other fun fact is that for me the spasms usually hit me around 4-5 am, and some have been pretty bad.
So here I am- strange how full circle this feels- praying “if I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.”
Most of the time, going about my day, I don’t really think about dying. I believe my heart is “right” with God, or maybe more accurately, His great grace covers my multitude of failure, sins, mistakes, and downright stupidity. O how I love Jesus- because He first love me! (Wow! That early childhood stuff is really coming back!)
I have at least on one occasion when my husband was traveling woken up in a panic with the thought, “If I die in my sleep, no one will know!” Not sure why that thought was so overwhelming since logically if I’m dead I would be beyond caring. Still…
The funny thing is- based on my Psychology/counseling training- the best thing to do with an overwhelming fear is to tell someone. Naming it- disarms it. For example, a person who feels suicidal is less likely to do it if they tell someone.
So, I told my husband- he freaked out- I got lots of calls and attention from my boys. Actually…it was great! But I really wasn’t trying to scare them; just cope with my own head.
So, why am I writing all this? First of all, because putting it down in writing is how I have always coped with overwhelming things. Second of all, just in case, I want my friends and family to know that I love you all! I realize I have often failed to do that well, and I pray that God will give you the grace to forgive me.
I have a good Dr., thank the Lord, and I still plan to live for many years. I have goals. I’m attempting to live more fully in each moment. The hard parts are-
letting others do things for me,
worrying about who will take care of the people I love if I am not here,
feeling I must be failing God because I cannot DO all the jobs anymore.
I have a reminder on my phone now that goes like this:
If you ask most church attenders, “What is the greatest commandment?” They will give you the same or similar answer that Jesus gave in Matthew 22:36, as follows:
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Ok, so love God first with all that it means to be you.
Love your neighbor as you do yourself; that’s a bit harder, but doable.
Jesus was referencing the Law given to Moses in Leviticus 19:18
You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor (assuming still of your own people) as yourself: I am the Lord.
But then he takes it a step further in the Sermon on the Mount. He basically steps beyond the Law as follows:
Matthew 5: 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
Yikes! Love God, your neighbor as yourself, and love your enemy…now it’s really getting tough!
What a lot of folks don’t realize is that he didn’t even stop the progression at this point.
One of my favorite passages is in the book of John, where he reveals in fuller detail the final private conversation Jesus had with his disciples at the Last Supper. John Chapters 13-17 are the most intimate, powerful, and loving words Jesus spoke during his time on earth. It’s almost like the other gospel writers were so busy getting the facts down during the short time allotted to them, that they left out or shorthanded these so powerful last moments with Jesus. John lived the longest and basically had more time to meditate on and even to discuss with others the teachings Jesus gave.
And here, in John 13:34-35, he records that Jesus took this teaching to what can be, for some, the hardest point of all.
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
So now it’s, love God with your entire self, your neighbor as yourself, love and pray for your enemy, and love those who are following Jesus- the same way that He does!
This time, it’s not: “hey, let’s take this a step further….” It is a new command.
Why does this command seem so difficult? Well, for the disciples, they were still struggling, as they had been from the beginning, with who was the greatest, who got the best seats, basically, who got to be in charge. In case you haven’t noticed, the church has never gotten over its attraction to power.
People who are following Jesus may not agree politically, not unlike these disciples: Simon the zealot, fighting against the Romans, and Matthew the tax collector, collaborating with them. Strange how Jesus did not side with either of them; he called them away from their former allegiances to follow Him and now tells them to love one another.
There were other differences. John was close to the religious establishment to such an extent that he was able to get Peter into the inner courtyard when Jesus was taken before the high priest. Thomas was a doubter. One was orthodox in his theology, the other stood back with a skeptical attitude. That can lead to conflict.
Andrew was always bringing people to Jesus-his brother Simon, the boy with the lunch, even Greeks who wanted to see Jesus. Philip also brought Nathanel. On the other hand, James and John wanted to call down fire on those who rejected Jesus and tell the man to stop, who wasn’t one of the twelve but was casting out demons. So, we have the gatekeeping- keep the faith- religious purists versus those who would throw the doors open to anyone. (Even Greeks..Gasp!)
Economically and socially, some were fishermen, blue-collar workers for sure. Tax collectors, maybe wealthy but with dirty money. The disciple known to the high priest- assumed to be John- was powerfully connected. Snobs, like Nathanael, who famously wanted to know if any good thing could come from Nazareth.
I wish Jesus had followed his command with detailed steps to accomplish this feat, and with possibly a few exceptions, addendums etc. But he didn’t. He just said this was the only way that everyone would know that it is truly Him we are following. We might be disciples of some denomination, religion, political party, or leader, but if we are HIS disciples, we WILL love one another.
The only answer I find is that the Holy Spirit had to come fill them, and they had to learn to walk and live in that Spirit before it even became remotely possible. Later in this same Last Supper Discourse, Jesus states, John 14:26
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
It is the transition time of year. End-of-school-term graduations, weddings, and new babies arriving all indicate major changes in a person’s life. Recently, I was working on a memory presentation for our graduate and it made me both teary and thoughtful. When she was a very small baby, her daddy used to sing or play his guitar for her. One of their favorites was the song by Coldplay:
’Cause you’re a sky, ’cause you’re a sky full of stars
I’m gonna give you my heart
’Cause you’re a sky, ’cause you’re a sky full of stars
’Cause you light up the path
I don’t care, go on and tear me apart
I don’t care if you do, ooh-ooh, ooh
’Cause in a sky, ’cause in a sky full of stars
I think I saw you, ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
’Cause you’re a sky, ’cause you’re a sky full of stars
I wanna die in your arms, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh
’Cause you get lighter the more it gets dark
I’m gonna give you my heart, oh
I don’t care, go on and tear me apart
I don’t care if you do, ooh-ooh, ooh
’Cause in a sky, ’cause in a sky full of stars
I think I see you, ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Despite the casual language and light “ooh-ooh-ooh’s,” there is a minor key tone and a less cheerful reality to the theme. I guess, now in my grandma era, I spend more time looking back than I do forward – it spoke significantly to me about the role of a parent.
When your child arrives into your life and home, you give them your heart. Your eyes are full of stars for all the hopes and dreams you carry for your little one.
But the next verse is the reality. They will tear you apart! You lose the innocent self-centeredness of your life as you struggle to learn an entirely new way of being a person—a person whose life, happiness, future plans, and priorities have suddenly and irreversibly changed. You aren’t just torn apart – you are rebuilt from the ground up!
You are so proud of this new little stranger, and so humbled by your own inabilities.
You would bravely, even fiercely, defend your child while being instantly overwhelmed by fears and anxiety for their safety and well-being.
You are determined never to make the mistakes that your foolish parents made, and hopefully you won’t, but it would be miraculous if you NEVER heard your parents’ voice coming out of your mouth.
You will struggle, as all parents have done, with how to enable them to fulfill their potential while not inflicting your own unfulfilled dreams upon them.
You will be amazed that someone you love so deeply could infuriate and cut you to your core. Sooner or later, it will happen, even if it’s not until the day they say goodbye and walk out the door. Somehow, even if they visit, it’s never the same again.
In the darkness that is our world, will you be able to let them shine brightly? Or will you seriously try to hide their light or quiet their voice to keep them, and maybe you- safe?
And finally, someday, if you have somehow managed to navigate all the pitfalls of parenting and have children who love you, you will probably die in their arms. Usually, one or the other parent is left alone, and then the child will have to say goodbye to you.
When they release you into the arms of the Father above at that moment, you will fully realize the infinite Love of the Parent who has been just as torn apart by loving you.
All the stuff came pouring out. All the stored, labeled, packed away issues I thought I had dealt with years ago. My loneliness, abandonment issues, bitterness, regret, blaming, and so much sadness and loss lay there in front of this person that I hardly knew. I felt exposed, raw, and so guilty.
It was probably an opportunity to respond differently this time. I wish I had done that.
The thing is, I have cleaned out this closet. So. Many. Times. I’ve opened every box, emptied the contents, wrestled with God over them, mourned, repented -why are they still there? Dust and maybe a few pantry moths, that I can never seem to get rid of, should have been all that floated out of that dark door.
Part of the problem is that the circumstances that aggravate the issues have not gone away. I can’t FIX it. And for all my prayers and tears, God has chosen not to fix it either.
Somehow, I have to get to this place:
I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance- I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:11-13)
I know that some of this struggle is about forgiveness. Forgiveness is necessary, but if the situation causing pain is ongoing, I have found that the forgiveness will also need to be.
Colossians 3:13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
What is helpful in that verse is not the admonition to forgive but the “bearing with one another.” There are some things we have to “bear”: defined as carrying the weight of support/enduring an ordeal or difficulty.
So, what I am choosing to believe is the following:
That God can give me the strength to learn contentment in my situation.
That if I am filled with the love of God, I can bear all things, including the need to forgive an ongoing hurt.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1 Corinthians 13:7
Maybe next time someone touches that door, I can just ask them to pray for me…
The recent disruptive events that have shaken the church regarding issues of misogyny, clergy sexual abuse, and the role of women in the church have caused many pastors to reconsider the basis of their beliefs and teaching on these issues.
This writing space is too limited to address all the issues involved. So instead, I would like to consider just one area. That is the area of Christian premarital and marriage counseling. As a pastor’s wife and someone involved in lay pastoral counseling, I have been overwhelmed when looking back at the materials and counsel we have given, with the conviction that we have been doing it all wrong! A premarital curriculum focused on “meeting needs” slanted in the wrong direction. Placing blame and undue burden frequently resulted in one person in the relationship carrying the weight of a more “needy” partner. Not to mention the incredible amount of damage done using authority structures in marriage!
Surely God had a better model in mind. In fact, he did.
Genesis 2:24 Therefore, a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
Jesus was speaking in Mark 10:6-9.
But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife,and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
There it is! The two shall become one flesh/ they shall become one flesh.
Even in Paul’s interpretation of marriage in Ephesians 5:31, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”
Given the hierarchical-patriarchal structure in which Paul was culturally bound, this concept was almost too much for him, and he felt compelled to redirect the concept toward Christ and the church. Eph. 5:32 “This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.”
Since he can’t imagine two becoming one as really happening in a marriage, he sums up his advice on marriage as follows: 33 “However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.”
But God! God, who is intimately acquainted through the Trinity with a communion of personalities being one, said it is not only possible but that IT HAPPENS! They are no longer Two- They are One. Jesus said God joins them together.
It is not that their individual identities are lost. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are still distinct. The best way I can describe it is that an “Ourself” is created. The individuals-“Our”- have become one “self.”
The Ourself marriage can sound either like a blessed utopia or a hellish nightmare! For most people, the reality falls somewhere in between the two extremes. But I believe it happens whether we are aware of it or not.
How often have you noticed couples in long relationships begin to look, act, and talk like one another? How often has the loss of a marriage partner been described as a loss of self?
After marriage, everything you, as an individual, do affects the Ourself of the marriage. The oneness- I can no more explain how it comes about than I can explain how the Trinity functions- means that you can never again act privately. If you are selfish and domineering, you are damaging the other person and harming yourself. If you are needy and demanding, you are hurting yourself.
Paul did see that part when he wrote: Ephesians 5:28-29 “He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it.”
Every bit of nourishment and cherishing that a person pours into the marriage – they are pouring into themselves because now they are one.
If you lie, cheat, or are unfaithful in thought or action within your marriage- you are lying, cheating, and being unfaithful to yourself.
Whatever you put into the marriage, how you care for the “Ourself” can either heal and strengthen or fragment and tear at the oneness. As Jesus said in Mark 10:9, “What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
So much is mixed up in Lent this year, in my heart and mind. Literally in my heart with various rounds of heart testing. The continuing trauma and heartbreak of Ukraine. The anxiety of Covid, inflation, gas prices, etc. All of the above and family concerns have made it difficult to focus on the passion of Christ. But it’s more than that. I hadn’t realized how much more until a recent conversation arrested my attention. I was speaking with an expert in the field of early childhood education. She was volunteering in her church in the preschool department. She was appalled when she was given a coloring sheet for the children that was a close-up of Jesus’ face with the crown of thorns and blood dripping. This is what we consider age-appropriate exposure to the gospel message for preschoolers? Someone being tortured! Even Christ on the cross…I mean, would I want them to see the pictures of torture and murder that are coming out of Ukraine? Wouldn’t I want to shelter them from that if I was a good parent or educator? I realize many children watch movies, cartoons, and games that contain violence and murder. However, on some level, they know or should know that those things are not real. I wonder if Christian children’s early, constant exposure to images of Christ’s death has not done the same. I know my breath doesn’t catch, tears don’t come to my eyes, my stomach doesn’t clench in horror when I look at a crucifix the same way it does when I see the images of the bodies lying in the streets of Ukraine and hear the stories of inhuman atrocities. Why? Because I have been desensitized. I have been exposed from birth to the coloring pages depicting the horrible, torturous death of Christ as just pictures in a story. I am not claiming to know how we should change the narrative and the exposure of children in order to present Christ’s sacrifice in a meaningful way that does not lead either to traumatizing or desensitization to the horror. But I wish I had the answer. Somehow, we MUST find a way! It just seems that by the time our Christian kids leave home as young adults, it is no longer REAL to them. Furthermore, is it still REAL to me? Even the best dramatic, cinematic presentations can feel like what they are- just a movie.
But reality hits hard with Ukraine. When I feel the horror of the naked bodies of women raped- do I remember that Christ was stripped naked on the cross? When my stomach turns at the signs of torture on the bodies of the Ukrainian dead- do I remember that is what the crown of thorns, the flogging, the beatings that Christ endured were torture? When I cry, listening to the sobs of the grieving mother as she tells of her only son who was shot in the street- do I see Christ’s mother Mary prostrate with grief at the foot of the cross? When I hear the calls, see the messages, asking for prayers for the missing, the lost- do I catch the anxiety of Mary in the garden, “They have taken away my Lord, and I don’t know where he is!” As I beg God for mercy and peace for the country of Ukraine- can I imagine, do I really believe there can be a resurrection? Or am I a disciple who wants to run and hide in a locked room? The wide-awake nightmare of Ukraine’s suffering is REAL. The passion of Christ is REAL. The only hope is in the God of Easter, of resurrection! Only through knowing Him can we find meaning in it all. Philippians 3: 10 “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” That is my prayer for Ukraine. That you may know Him in the power of His resurrection. You have shared in His suffering, become like Him in His death- may you now attain a resurrection from the dead. I didn’t give up anything for lent this year. I just determined that I would not turn away from what was happening in Ukraine. Instead, I would stay with those I could find where I had some connection. To pray- to hold up their hands as the battle raged around them. To let them know they were not alone when they were crying out. I didn’t expect it to hit me with the reality of Christ’s passion. We have a story to tell- not a cartoonish coloring page story, a REAL story of horror and death…for LOVE! God, please help us find a way to communicate that reality without desensitizing ourselves or our children!
Here we are, facing a new year…but already, rather than feeling we are on the brink of a new and exciting future, most of us are dreading, even fearful, what this week or this year may bring. How can we find the courage to go forward into this year?
Paul wrote to the Philippians in 3:12-14 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own- But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
“I’ll get there, if I leave everything but my bones behind,” said Sam. “And I’ll carry Mr. Frodo up myself, if it breaks my back and heart.”
That is pressing on!
Or little Reepicheep from C.S. Lewis Voyage of the Dawn Treader:
“My own plans are made. While I can, I sail east in the Dawn Treader. When she fails me, I paddle east in my coracle. When she sinks, I shall swim east with my four paws. And when I can swim no longer, if I have not reached Aslan’s country, or shot over the edge of the world into some vast cataract, I shall sink with my nose to the sunrise.”
Even Lewis himself kept his eyes on the goal:
“The Christian says, ‘Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists…If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it, that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing…I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to that country and to help others to do the same.”
The early church father Augustine expressed a similar sentiment:
“I look forward, not to what lies ahead of me in this life and will surely pass away, but to my eternal goal. I am intent upon this one purpose, not distracted by other aims, and with this goal in view, I press on, eager for the prize, God’s heavenly summons. Then I shall listen to the sound of Your praises and gaze at Your beauty ever-present, never future, never past. But now my years are but sighs. You, O Lord, are my only solace. You, my Father, are eternal. But I am divided between time gone by and time to come, and its course is a mystery to me. My thoughts, the intimate life of my soul, are torn this way and that in the havoc of change. And so it will be until I am purified and melted by the fire of Your love and fused into one with You.”
So how do we, in a world reeling from a pandemic, divided by politics, increasingly deceptive and violent-
“press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus,”
“make it the main object of life to press on to that country and to help others to do the same,”
(Stay) “intent upon this one purpose, not distracted by other aims, and with this goal in view, I press on, eager for the prize, God’s heavenly summons?”
There is only one way- Hebrews 12: 1-2, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
LOOKING TO JESUS!
Not to any human leader, cause, political party, ideology!
He is the ultimate example of pressing on- He endured through all the hate, hurt, pain, and even death until He WON and was seated at the right hand of God. He did not overcome by trying to overthrow- He overcame by laying down His life.
Our instructions for 2021 have not changed. Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” John 13:34
1 John 3:16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
We have one job in this new year- to love like Jesus.
What a year this has been! This is even evidenced by the fact that after recovering my blog account, I have only managed to post two the entire year. I spent the lockdown in my garden, not at my computer -it was essential to my mental health. I realize some might equate this behavior with the ostrich sticking its head in the sand, but it was all too much. So here I am- a couple of hard freezes, and the garden is down for the winter, and I am back at the computer again.
What has been hardest this year is that each of the issues that have arisen has shoved a mirror in my face and forced me to confront deeply buried images of myself.
Racism, Politics, COVID-19, and the death of my Father have caused me to confront myself more than anyone else.
Where have I let racist attitudes, feelings of superiority, pride that I am not like that “other” person creep into my life? Am I too proud to even admit these attitudes are there? How do I love the African American grandparents with their tribe of little grand-boys who have to somehow raise them in a culture where the odds are stacked against them? Equally important, how do I love the most dedicated, honest, kindest lawman and his wife who fears daily for his safety when he goes out to do and be the best he can be for the public safety?
Politically- Can I still love people who are willing to let their version of politics come between us? How do I love people who will condemn my faith if my politics does not agree with theirs?
So many people have died this year, family and friends! I have had to face- not my fear of death but my anger and hatred of it! There is a reason why death is finally thrown into hell at the end of time- it is not our friend!
Revelations 20:14 “Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.”
How can I protect the physically vulnerable people in my life from a deadly virus without being judgmental of those I feel would put them at risk? Is it even possible to adequately care for people and keep them at arms-length or 6 feet?
How do I say goodbye to someone I love but with whom I realize I have some unresolved issues? Especially since, given the progression of his disease, I would have had to talk to him ten years ago when I was too overwhelmed with parenting and making my own mistakes with my kids. What do you do with a hurt that was never intentional, but that happened?
So, I have seen my racism, pride, fear, hurt, anxiety, fear, failure- it has been glaringly revealed by the trauma of this year. I have heard the gentle rebukes of the Spirit as He touched the hurting or inflamed, tender places of my heart. It has been a painful year. I realize I still don’t know even the depths of my own heart…
1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. NKJV
There is also a danger in thinking that becoming aware of all these issues is enough. I acknowledge them, so now I’m done. I believe God expects me to do more than that…
James 1:23-24 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.
There is only one way to face this new year without despair, and that is to fix my eyes on Jesus and allow Him complete access to all the ugly parts of me. Only He is capable of transforming me until I look and act like Him!
2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. NKJV
“We are mirrors whose brightness, if we are bright, is wholly derived from the sun that shines upon us.” C.S. Lewis
Looking forward to this next year, I thought of this song by one of my favorite artists Sara Groves.
You are the sun shining down on everyone Light of the world giving light to everything I see Beauty so brilliant I can hardly take it in And everywhere you are is warmth and light
And I am the moon with no light of my own Still you have made me to shine And as I glow in this cold dark night I know I can’t be a light unless I turn my face to you
You are the sun shining down on everyone Light of the world giving light to everything I see Beauty so brilliant I can hardly take it in And everywhere you are is warmth and light
And I am the moon with no light of my own Still you have made me to shine And as I glow in this cold dark night I know I can’t be a light unless I turn my face to you
Shine on me with your light Without you I am a cold dark stone Shine on me I have no light of my own You are the sun, you are the sun, you are the sun And I am the moon
