rest...

Last night I found myself with some much needed quiet and much needed space… so of course I decided to fill it. Because that’s what I do. Ironically, I filled this time and space by listening to a message from our old church called “An invitation to rest.” I figured, since I don’t know how to rest, I might as well listen to a sermon on it… logical, yes?!

In his message, our pastor shared a conversation he had had with his wife where he asked her what she thinks of when she hears the word “rest”…

Her response: the cross.

Say what?! Now, I have to be honest here. When I hear the word “rest” many things come to mind, but the cross is not one of them. Far from it in fact. This pastor’s wife thinks of naps, a good book, breakfast in bed, a day with absolutely no obligations… so I was intrigued by why she thought of the cross instead…

It was on the cross that Jesus uttered his last words this side of the resurrection, “It is finished.” These are powerful words if we stop and think about it. There is nothing more we can do to add to our salvation and there is nothing that can be done to take it away. In this phrase is our invitiation...

We live in an overworked and distracted culture that doesn’t prioritize rest. We never cease striving and doing... whether in work, in life, or in faith... which speaks to the reality that deep down we look to our achievements and accomplishments for our worth and value.

Learning to prioritize rest goes against the grain of culture… it’s shows an understanding that we are not defined by our performance, but rather we are defined by who God says we are. And God says that we are loved, we are provided for, we are made strong in our weaknesses because of Christ in us… the same Christ who said, “It is finished.” Stopping the striving and learning to rest shows that we admit we are not gods and that the world will go on without us. It’s humbling to recognize our limits… but it’s also incredibly freeing.

In John 6, Jesus is asked “What must we do to be doing the works of God?” And Jesus’ answer is this: “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.” The word believe means to rely upon and rest in. God wants us to just stop and be sometimes. Rest is a holy thing.

God Himself exemplified this for us when, after creating things for six days straight, He chose to rest on the seventh day. The rhythm of Jesus’ life demonstrated rest as well… He would rise to the demands of the crowds that sought Him, but the gospels tell us repeatedly that He would then retreat for rest.

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Prioritizing rest honors God and His image in us. May we learn to see the value of rest and allow ourselves to press pause on occasion. And when we do find the courage to rest, may God use that time to renew and refresh our spirits...

love... a day late...

There have been many contemplations this week regarding what love is and what love looks like in our lives…

To me, this is love…

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." matthew 11:28-30

No hoops. No expectations. No demands.

Just an invitation to be with One who loves unconditionally. Regardless of where we are or where we’ve been… regardless of who we are or who we’ve been…

True love offers an invitation into grace… into learning to live freely and lightly…

And for that, I am thankful.

...unconditional love

So… don’t hate me, but… I may or may not have another Henri Nouwen quote. Ok, I do… it’s true… just wait for it…

Here’s the deal, there’s been a LOT of polarizing conversations and debates in the news these days… the biggies around here are to support Planned Parenthood or not to support and to legally recognize gay marriage or leave it as a no-go… neither are simple issues and neither have simple solutions.

I don’t bring these examples up so that I can argue a particular stance and invite further division amongst us. I bring them up because I think these issues are close to God’s heart. How do I know that God cares about such things? Because they involve people… and God has a crazy fierce, devoted, invested, passionate love for people. All people.

I’m so sad at the way God’s name has been dragged through the mud with these and other cultural, political, global issues. Christians are seen as haters rather than lovers, and their God is a joke. I think the church has failed at demonstrating the love and grace that is theirs in Jesus, and caused more wounds than healing by trying to push certain views. I’m pretty convinced that arguing morality doesn’t save souls.

But at the same time, we are called to take a stand. So how do you communicate the boundaries and parameters that God has set for His creation, for His children, without sounding harsh and legalistic? I think it boils down, really, to how we communicate God’s love…

“God’s love is unconditional… there are no ifs in God’s heart. God’s love for us does not depend on what we do or say, on our looks or intelligence, on our success or popularity. God’s love for us existed before we were born and will exist after we have died… Does that mean that God does not care what we do or say? No, because God’s love wouldn’t be real if God didn’t care. To love without condition does not mean to love without concern… We often confuse unconditional love with unconditional approval. God loves us without conditions but does not approve of every human behavior.”
~henri nouwen

Our culture has instilled a fear of rules and restrictions in us, so now we associate them with control and manipulation. There’s a resistance to “staying in the lines.” Sometimes this can be healthy, but sometimes it can be detrimental. It takes a huge paradigm shift… really, the work of the Holy Spirit… to bring us to a place where we can see God’s instruction to us as a way of protecting us and showing us true freedom. We won’t see His “rules” as a good thing until we learn His concern and love behind them.

My prayer is that we, as the church, can learn to demonstrate His concern in a healthy, healing way that intrigues people to learn more of who this God of unconditional love is, rather than causing them to put walls up to keep this God out.

“Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.” ...1 Peter 3:15-16



...what's your story?

This weekend was the first official day on the job for my husband at our new church. It felt like a whirlwind of names and faces as we met the families and individuals of our new community there. I’m excited, anxious, overwhelmed, humbled… but mostly, I am antsy… I’m antsy to dive in and build relationships and to learn who these people are beyond just their names and faces.

Because here’s the thing, each of them has a story. And there’s nothing I love more than to hear people’s stories.

As I interacted with all these new people and dreamt of the day when I would be more connected and know them better, I was reminded of the first sermon I heard this year. It was a message emphasizing the fact that everyone’s life is a story being written, and that every story has a message to share. Our stories are important because our stories matter…

Our hope as believers is that ultimately our lives would be a story demonstrating love and redemption and the beauty of Jesus.

I love what Paul writes to the Corinthian church about the power of the story of a transformed life…

Your very lives are a letter that anyone can read by just looking at you. Christ himself wrote it—not with ink, but with God's living Spirit; not chiseled into stone, but carved into human lives… We wouldn't think of writing this kind of letter about ourselves. Only God can write such a letter. His letter authorizes us to help carry out this new plan of action. The plan wasn't written out with ink on paper, with pages and pages of legal footnotes, killing your spirit. It's written with Spirit on spirit, his life on our lives! ...2 Cor. 3:1-5

What a powerful image- as we open ourselves to God’s work in our life, He uses it as a communication tool to speak into those around us. We have the privilege of telling the story of God’s power and love to this world- a world that is craving something to find hope in. And what I’ve learned to love most about this is the beauty of diversity in the way God writes into people’s lives, into their stories. It doesn’t matter how dramatic or how simple the story is, though… because really we’re all just broken sinners who need to be restored to our Father, our Creator, our Savior.

This is a universal truth… not just for theologians, or public figures, or people who have been through extremes… your story matters too! You are crafted perfectly and intentionally by God for God. You are valuable. You have a message to share, and it doesn’t rely on carefully crafted words or persuasive arguments… it’s a message shared by opening up your life and letting the story of God at work in and through you be seen. Our stories are constantly unfolding and being continually woven with each new day, and God delights in using us as His letter to others.

“…we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.” -Paul

an invitation to forgive...

This past Sunday was the last week for my husband and I to attend service at our church… it was a place we thought was going to be a rest stop but it ended up becoming a home. It’s a church that values grace & truth, wholeness, generosity, mission, and creativity. And as we move on to the new church we’ve been called to serve at, it’s a tad bittersweet because of the growth we’ve experienced and the friendships we’ve made during this past year. {Don’t get me wrong, though, we are extremely excited too!}

Our leaving is taking place smack dab in the middle of a series of messages centered around the invitations of God… looking at what exactly it is that Jesus invites us into when we choose to follow Him. I came to church on Sunday hopeful and expectant for this final message there.

This week’s invitation was: “The Invitation to Forgive”… and one of the first things our Pastor said was that we will never experience the heart of God more than when we are participating in forgiveness and showing others grace. Because forgiveness IS the very heart of God.

I guess I never thought of it that way. Dang.

Our text was Matthew 18:21-35, a parable Jesus himself spoke that illuminates this tendency we all have to want grace for ourselves, but justice for everyone else. Why is it so easy to justify and explain away our own actions and attitudes, but so hard to extend that same benefit of the doubt to those who have wronged or hurt us?

The parable ends with a harsh statement that, quite honestly, I’ve never really known what to do with. Jesus says that the fate of the unforgiving servant is the same fate that awaits us unless we forgive our brothers and sisters from the heart. I’ve wrestled with this because it seems to put restrictions and qualifications on this grace that we so often speak of as being “free” and unwarranted by anything we do ourselves.

I’m starting to get it though… to see that it’s not a statement meant to strike fear, but rather it’s an invitation to experience the freedom Jesus offers. If we are so stuck in the shackles of bitterness and anger, then either we haven’t really grasped or accepted God’s forgiveness or we’re allowing something/someone to block its power for transformation in our lives.

So how are we to respond to someone who has wounded or wronged us? We seek to have the same reaction as the king had with his servant- “The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt, and let him go.” There is so much to this simple statement that we unpacked in church but here’s the nutshell recap:

- To pity means to allow our hearts to go out to them… to allow our heart to see a bigger picture, a picture in which we’re all sinners and broken.

- To cancel the debt doesn’t mean to just brush it off and pretend it never happened… there’s healing in acknowledging the damage done, but we then “absorb the debt” like the King did and move on.

- To let them go… take them down from the hook you’ve hung them up on and release them to the Lord. Why is it important to do this? Because by this act of grace, that person might be changed.

Over and over again in scripture, we are told to “forgive as you have been forgiven”… God is the standard and the foundation of this invitation {my pastor’s words- wish I could take credit!}. We need to remember that we are not the king or the judge, we are but a servant. A servant who has been let off the hook for a debt we could never repay. A servant who is invited to be in the presence of a King who is loving and who is just.

May we never lose sight of how much we’ve been forgiven… and may we learn to live lives that exude that same grace to others so that they too may be drawn to the King.