I have written about this trend but I think it is worth revisiting. After a tragedy or sad event it is a common social media reaction to attack people of faith for offering “thoughts and prayers”. These posters assume that anyone expressing those sentiments don’t really care about solutions to whatever problem is being addressed. We seem to have lost the ability to recognize two things can be true at once. I may get mocked and/or canceled by some for the following statement. I honestly believe I can desire cultural change while praying for ultimate hope available through Christ. I don’t force that on others. I try to live it although I know I do that imperfectly. That is the power of grace. I don’t have to be perfect for God to use me to love others. So there is the challenge for Christians in this season. How can we love those who assign terrible motives to what may be
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Being in community with others means you share their joys and their sorrows. Sometimes the sorrows come in tsunami waves and all you can do is care, pray, and be present. Good and decent people deal with financial, emotional, and physical suffering all around us and it is easy to lose heart. The news seems to be only tragedy and heartbreaking sadness. What can be redeemed of all of this suffering? A song called “The Hurt and the Healer” by MercyMe resonated when I first heard it but now that same song is a go to when facing trials. The lyrics ask the question we all struggle with. Why?The question that is never far awayThe healing doesn’t come from the explainedJesus please don’t let this go in vain I can’t explain why things happen. Sometimes it is sin. Sometimes it is simply life. I have learned in my years of following Jesus that He does not let suffering go in vain. I have seen
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Joni and I have been listening to my eclectic mix of music on the road this week. The lyrics from a song released 17 years ago sounds like it was written this week. The artist was John Mayer and he won a Grammy for Best Male Vocal Pop Performance with his song “Waiting on the World to Change”. The song describes the apathy displayed by many of Mayer’s generation toward political and social disunity. The words are powerful and, to me, a bit depressing. Me and all my friends We’re all misunderstood They say we stand for nothing and There’s no way we ever could Now we see everything that’s going wrong With the world and those who lead it We just feel like we don’t have the means To rise above and beat it So we keep waiting Waiting on the world to change That accurately describes our culture today. We are discouraged and even paralyzed by things out of our control. We feel like the world
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Philip Yancey always challenges me with his writing. He is the writer I want to be when I grow up. I was reviewing past reads and I revisited his book Vanishing Grace : Whatever Happened to the Good News?. I originally discovered the book from an interview in Christianity Today. Philip Yancey has written over a dozen best selling books and one of those is What’s So Amazing about Grace? I found the first question of the interview fascinating. Why did you choose to revisit the subject of grace? I know why the interviewer made the inquiry. You want “new” material from an author. Why plow the same ground? But I think that question is a mirror to one of the big problems in the Christian community. We never get past our daily need to revisit grace and the Good News of the Gospel. Martin Luther said that “you should preach the Gospel to yourself daily.” Why? Because you and I forget the depth and the
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When I feel a bit discouraged or sad I like to cue up songs that remind me that my hope was, is, and will always be in Jesus. Today I listened to Michael W Smith sing a hymn that was written in 1918. That makes this week’s song even older than me. Helen Lemmel, an accomplished hymn writer and soloist, titled the song“The Heavenly Vision”. But most of us know it by the first line of the refrain, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus”. Turn your eyes upon JesusLook full in his wonderful faceAnd the things of earth will grow strangely dimIn the light of his glory and grace I love the concept of turning my eyes toward Jesus but I am all about application. How can that action cause my struggles to dim in the light of His glory and grace? I think there are two foundational steps to get me to that place of comfort with Jesus. Step one
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Sometimes I just want to step away from people. I get tired. Living in honest community can be frustrating and discouraging. And then the song “Lean On Me” cycles up my playlist. That is not funny Lord. The lyrics sung by Bill Withers talks about being there for others. Sometimes in our livesWe all have painWe all have sorrow But if we are wiseWe know that there’sAlways tomorrow Lean on me, when you’re not strongAnd I’ll be your friend I confess that I struggle with the cost of walking in honest relationship with people. It is hard. I have come to understand why legalism is so much easier than grace. Legalism allows me to assess the situation and then apply a verse or assign a task. If that person rejects that Biblical admonition or task then legalism allows me to withdraw because they are disobedient. Grace does not give me that option. Grace demands that I move toward the struggle
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I can’t remember a more contentious cultural climate in my lifetime. Followers of Christ are wondering how to make a difference in an unfriendly environment. I think modeling a parable related by Jesus is desperately needed today. You probably know the story well. One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?” The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!” The religious “expert” should have quit right there. Instead he did what many of us try to do when Jesus tweaks our hearts. We look for the loopholes. The man wanted to justify his actions, so he
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