The continuing weight of it all, the ongoing isolation and loneliness from quarantine, the bone-deep sadness and perplexity and fear...Abba, we're weary and uncertain and look to You for hope, for deliverance, for strength, for redemption. Help us, show us, lead us, revive us again, Father. Yes, we don't know what to do but our eyes are on You. (II Chron.20:12)
But then I open our Heavenly Father's eternal Word, and His God-exhaled words breathe hope, sustenance, faith, and peace into my heart. He renews my mind and restores my perspective, and I realize afresh that He is in control. He is our Peace. He is the reconciling Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. And He is the conquering Lion of Judah who destroys sin, hatred, bitterness, death and despair and rises triumphant over it all for us, for you, for me.
"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 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. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful." (Col.3:12-15)
Jesus is our Hope. He is our Way-maker. He is our Strength. He is our living Word, and He's given us His written Word that will transform our hearts, renew our minds, and redeem our culture.
So the question is, how then will we live? Will we fall back in despair or will we trustingly follow our Savior wherever He leads? Will we give in to the negativity of the culture around us or will we choose to be salt and light? Will we choose the path of bitterness and recrimination or will we choose the path of forgiveness and restoration? Will we be led by fear or will we be led by faith? Will we quietly blend in with the darkness or will we boldly shine the light and love of Christ?
We choose. You choose. I choose. Yes, the darkness around us is thick, indeed, but the tiniest, weakest little flicker of candlelight will obliterate the darkness around it. We can be that light. Because remember--it's not our light...it's the unconquerable, unending, unfailing Light of the World that shine through us. We're not the source--He is. And because He is the Light, we know that His "light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." (John 1:5)
Maybe we need to stop trying so hard to shine, and simply choose, as His beloved, to have Him do the shining. We just need to obey...and that means forgive as He has forgiven us. To forbear, to show compassion, to be kind, and above all, to love.
We don't have to have it all figured out...just love as He's loved us. Just shine His light. We don't have all the answers...but we have Jesus and He does.
I'll close with the lyrics to a new song by Rascal Flatts--"How They Remember You"--that in many ways, says it all. The first time I heard it the other day, the tears flowed. I encourage you to go listen to it and remember that we all have the choice to be the love and light of Christ in this world.
Sprayed my name on a water tower
Carved it in an old cottonwood tree
Signed a bunch of high school yearbooks
So they wouldn't forget about me
It wasn't 'til I saw my daddy's name in stone I knew
It ain't a question of if they will
It's how they remember you
Did you stand or did you fall?
Build a bridge or build a wall
Hide your love or give it all
What did you do? What did you do?
Did you make 'em laugh or make 'em cry?
Did you quit or did you try?
Live your dreams or let 'em die?
What did you choose? What did you choose?
When it all comes down
It ain't if, it's how they remember you
When you're down to your last dollar
Will you give or will you take?
When the stiff wind blows the hardest
Will you bend or will you break? (Will you break?)
You're gonna leave a legacy, no matter what you do
It ain't a question of if they will
It's how they remember you
Did you stand or did you fall?
Build a bridge or build a wall
Hide your love or give it all
What did you do? What did you do?
Did you make 'em laugh or make 'em cry?
Did you quit or did you try?
Live your dreams or let 'em die
What did you choose? What did you choose?
When it all comes down
It ain't if, it's how they remember you
Oh Father, help us to build bridges rather than walls; to love rather than to hide; to refuse to quit but by Your grace and for Your glory, to keep trying, keep giving, keep forgiving, keep helping, keep encouraging, keep loving, keep shining. When they remember us, might they simply see You.
To You--the Light of the World--be all the glory.
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