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If you’ve ever walked through a swampy area you’ve seen them. Some are trampled down. Some are bent over. Virtually all of them are at some level of being wounded. Reeds of every size and shape standing vulnerable to the elements.
Life can be like that swamp. We go through life and get stomped on, damaged, and wounded. For some it’s broken relationships. The person we once thought a soul mate is suddenly gone, and with their departure, there’s a gaping hole in your soul.
For some it may be shattered dreams. You’ve worked hard towards a goal, only to have the rug pulled out from under you and you are left holding a thousand different pieces of a puzzle you know you will never get back together again.
When life heads south; when we go through some life changing event, we become extremely fragile. The slightest breeze can break us. The brush of a passing situation can be our undoing.
Jesus showed throughout his time on earth that he had the soft compassion that would heal the most fragile of lives; that would move so gently that even the most bruised reed would not be broken.
You can come to Jesus with your fragile heart. You can come to Jesus with your bruised heart. You can know that his gentleness will help you through the pain. He’s the great healer.
I love the raw emotion of David in the songs he wrote (Psalms). They are filled with virtually every type of emotion from anger to fear; from frustration to doubt; from confession to loneliness. Virtually ever song ends with a acknowledgement of God’s unending, unfailing, unconditional love.
So with such a great God on our side, why would anyone run from him? I’m not sure there are any easy answers but it’s been happening since the beginning of time, with the first two humans to ever walk this earth.
What an amazing relationship Adam and Eve must have had with the triune God. At the end of every day they had the opportunity to walk in the cool of the evening; to talk with him about all the things they’d seen throughout the day; to ask him first hand, eye to eye, about life.
They were completely naked physically, spiritually and emotionally! Boggles my mind!
Then that fateful evening came. The Heavenly Father, the Triune God, came as he always did to walk with the loves of his life…but they were gone. They ran. They hid. Not only did they hide from their loving Father, they hid from each other behind fig leaves. And so the story goes on.
We still do it of course. We see our failings; we grieve over our weaknesses; we hide and blame and pass on the responsibility of our guilt to others. It’s been going on for thousands of years.
One other thing hasn’t changed. He still comes for you. Still seeks you out. In spite of your failings, still passionately desires to be intimately involved with you. He won’t judge. He won’t accuse. He only wants to love on you a bit.
Why do we run from that?! Maybe it’s time we come out of the bushes and renew a love relationship.
Back in the 1990’s there was a clever marketing campaign which, I believe, was a true attempt to remind people of our original calling: To live by example the good news of the Gospel as personified in the life of Jesus Christ.
Many a T-shirt, can cooler, visor, and bracelet were sold with the initials, WWJD. Today, the question is as valid as it was then. What would Jesus do? I doubt he would lash out at Caesar for his handling of the Roman Empire. Judging from his treatment of the woman guilty of adultery, I”m guessing he would not condemn those who live a life contrary to God’s original plan for family.
Jesus Christ found the perfect balance between reaching out to the ‘deplorables’ while at the same time standing for the standards of his Heavenly Father. How unfortunate that 2000 years ago people of ill repute sought Jesus out and today they tend to scoff, run or hide from the mere mention of his name.
Now more than ever, we who are ‘little Christs’ (the original implication of the title ‘Christian’) ought to strive with every word, with every action, with every attitude, to exemplify the life of the one who called us from darkness.
Be a light. Shine like Jesus did.
It’s easier to blame others than to accept responsibility for our actions; to dwell on the mistakes made in the past than to build towards the future. Some look on the social, political and physical problems of today and blame God or others. Yet the evil of today isn’t because of divine action but due to the natural consequences of greed, lust, hatred and anger. Fire can’t be fought with fire. More darkness won’t defeat darkness. The smallest amount of light will penetrate the deepest darkness
Sharing a burden helps the burden bearer because his load is lightened and he can gain new perspective on solutions, it benefits the one who comes alongside because he gains an understanding of the burden and the bearer, it helps both because when the task is done there is a sense of accomplishment and a bond between the two is created. You have a new brother or sister.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 