echoes of redemption

Jesus would – from time to time – get frustrated with the disciples.

It wasn’t over their lack of knowledge with Scripture, their commitment to him or their ability to follow God’s commands though.

Jesus got frustrated with the disciples over their lack of understanding of how his presence in their lives changed everything.

Which makes me realize that he is probably pretty frustrated with me from time to time as well.

Because I just don’t get it.

I read that if my faith is as big as a mustard seed that I could throw a mountain into the ocean – yet I lack faith when I ask for God to provide for my family’s needs (something God has already promised anyway).

Maybe I need to re-imagine what my life looks like with the Messiah’s presence in it.

How do I walk? How do I talk? What do I find joy in? What do I get furiously angry at? What motivates me? Discourages me?

Because there is power in presence. And if I can understand and respond to that, the whole world could change.

For most of my life I have seen things as right and wrong.

Which is fine for things like math problems, but causes problems when it comes to spirituality.

I used to view spiritual things as right and wrong, but I’m learning to view them differently. Because if all spiritual things are right and wrong, when I learn something new, I have to look at what I used to know as wrong. And all the people who still think that way as wrong. And all the churches who operate around those principles as wrong.

And there is no room for journey in that. No room for grace. No room for growth.

It’s also built on pride. Because when I declare everyone else wrong and myself correct, I become the judge.

So now I see things more as a journey.

And where I used to believe certain things about God, or about how his followers operate on earth – now my journey with his Son may have taken me somewhere different. And the implications of that may change how I view the way things work, or how I live, or the kinds of things I feel like I should do in response.

So it’s a new way of living. And in this way of living I find myself judging less. Beating myself up for the past less. Growing more. Getting along with more people. And enjoying the experiences of grace and growth.

If you want to run something successfully you have to put the best time into the best people – everyone knows that.

If you have 99 people who are pouring into what you’re doing and one person who walks away, you let the one walk and work with the 99.

Unless you’re trying to live like Jesus.

Because for some reason Jesus was obsessed with the one. Really you could say it goes deeper than that: Jesus was obsessed with helping the lost become found.

He developed this concept with three consecutive stories: a lost sheep (one of 99), a lost coin (one of ten) and a lost person (one of two). For the religious elite, these stories ranged from baffling to infuriating – because in each story the things that were found were left by the master in order to find the things which were lost. For the master to do something favored those who were out over those who were in was ridiculous in their minds.

But that’s the beauty of God.

And it only gets more beautiful when we find that we are the ones who have fallen away.

That he would drop everything he is doing and come after us.

Pursue us – even in our wandering.

To know that he chases after the one.