echoes of redemption

There are so many situations where it’s just awkward to know what to say.

Anything involving a hospital as the location.

Any time a marriage is falling apart.

And so we disengage. We don’t pick up the phone. We don’t try. Because we simply don’t know what to say. Or what to do. Or even how to act.

But if we think back to the times of crises in our own lives, it’s not the people who offered advice that meant the most to us. (Most of the time, they said the things that hurt the most.)

It’s the people who just sit in the moment that mean the most. The ones who were there.

There to listen. Laugh. Cry. Curse.

And even though we know that, it’s easy to forget when it’s our turn to impact someone who desperately needs it.

So maybe instead of laying out an agenda, or waiting to muster up the confidence, we should just move forward. Entering in to the moments of crises and hurt that people around us are having.

The sun was shining this weekend. And rain is falling today. And…

You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of you Father who is in heaven.

Central to the way of Jesus is the idea of loving the unlovable.

Reaching out to that person at work that no one gets along with.

Doing a favor for the person who rails against you.

Its showing the same love to the unlovable that God shows me – when so often I am unloveable.

Because…

(Your Father) makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

Sun and rain – the elements of life – flowing freely from the heavens.

The signs that God is blessing the work of our hands. For every farmer that plants a crop relies on the grace of God to feed it with the sun, and nourish it with the rain.

So may we, as followers of Jesus flow blessing upon blessing – upon those who bless, and upon those who curse. Because we are called to stand as the image of God, releasing his grace upon the earth – like rays of sunlight and drops of rain.

Why me? is a brilliant question if you ask it at the right time.

It’s easy to ask why me? in the midst of life’s problems and struggles. Of course, this is the worst time to ask the question. It takes focus off solutions and redirects it inward – which often leads to spiraling negativity, poor decisions, etc.

It’s after the dust settles that why me? is a brilliant question. When life regains traction and we’ve had the opportunity to walk the roads of forgiveness, insight and reconciliation.

Why me?

Is there something I need to do in my life because of this lesson?

Is there someone I can now pour into in a way I never could have before?

Someone I could take under my wing and prevent this from happening in their life?

A new way of living that this problem revealed to me?

Central to the Christian faith is the idea that God weaves both good and the bad things together for good of those who seek after him.

And if this is true, then there is a why. And if I ask the question at the right time, I might just reveal a little more about who I am and what God created me to be.