How is it possible that in creating the most socially connected generation we've also managed to create the most isolated one?
On the surface, society seems more linked than ever before. Every day we're busy interacting with people all over the world through one click of a button. Through social media - and even quick, in-person chats at the office water fountain or on the way to class - we encounter many people everyday thanks to our rapidly shrinking, increasingly connected world. But at a deeper level there's a disconnect.
Behind the casual conversations and daily social interactions, there's a generation trying desperately to navigate conflicting worldviews, endless choices, and a divided society.
We so willingly offer glances into our lives, sharing parts of our stories with our huge social webs. But we hide the not as pretty parts further and deeper than ever before.
The problem with hiding skeletons in the closet is that they refuse to stay there. They poke their icy fingers through the doors and hover in the corners of our vision, threatening to grab at our throats. They trap us in loneliness and isolation that lingers in the background of our outwardly happy lives.
When will we learn that the only way to be free of our skeletons is by letting them into the light instead of locking them away? Stronger than the fear of someone discovering our skeletons is the fear of never being truly known. After all, nothing is more powerful than being completely known - and to be loved despite.
How can we, as the church, more effectively create environments conducive to unlocking closet doors? How can we create safe atmospheres to talk and encourage one another as we navigate a society plagued by addiction, mental illness, and broken families? How can we, as a community, find freedom through confession and repentance - while locking judgement out of the room and letting grace in?
For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory. Let's acknowledge that each of us are sinners. Let's not hide our skeletons - but let's also avoid displaying them with pride or boasting of struggles we've overcome. Let's instead let them dissolve into thin air when they touch the light - leaving behind empty closets which we can display as proof of the saving power of the Lord.
Tuesday, November 6, 2018
Sunday, April 1, 2018
The Only Thing
"When I survey the wondrous cross
on which the prince of glory died
My richest gain I count but loss
and pour contempt on all my pride"
He is the only thing that matters.
Life is so complex. Relationships, work, even churches, can be full of conflict and confusing situations. We try to make the right decisions, follow His will. Sin and temptation threaten to lead us off track the entire time. And the only thing that matters is Him.
In the end, our richest gains will be counted as losses. Nothing in this world can hold a candle to the glory of the Lord, and nothing is worth trading.
I made a promise to the Lord recently. I told him that nothing - nothing - on this earth was worth compromising the plans He has for me. Every time a situation comes into my life that threatens to steer me 'off-track', I'm surrendering it to Him in prayer. It's a learning process, and I don't always listen very well. But every day I'm trying to life in a way that says to God, "nothing else is worth it."
Simple and profound. He is all that matters. Life is full of beautiful blessings like love and family and adventure - but sometimes we orient our lives toward Him because we think that if we do, everything else will fall into place and our lives will be better. The Lord is a good father and will take care of us, but things of this world matter so much less than things of eternity.
Today, as we reflect and remember His hands stretched out on that tree, are we truly comprehending the significance of what we are celebrating? The cross is not just a "part" of our faith...it's the only thing that really, really matters in all of humanity. In the history of our world, nothing is more important than that last breath that Jesus took on Calvary. It changed the course of human history forever. Once the Lord has touched your life and made you clean through His sacrifice, nothing is worth going backward for. Nothing.
on which the prince of glory died
My richest gain I count but loss
and pour contempt on all my pride"
He is the only thing that matters.
Life is so complex. Relationships, work, even churches, can be full of conflict and confusing situations. We try to make the right decisions, follow His will. Sin and temptation threaten to lead us off track the entire time. And the only thing that matters is Him.
In the end, our richest gains will be counted as losses. Nothing in this world can hold a candle to the glory of the Lord, and nothing is worth trading.
I made a promise to the Lord recently. I told him that nothing - nothing - on this earth was worth compromising the plans He has for me. Every time a situation comes into my life that threatens to steer me 'off-track', I'm surrendering it to Him in prayer. It's a learning process, and I don't always listen very well. But every day I'm trying to life in a way that says to God, "nothing else is worth it."
Simple and profound. He is all that matters. Life is full of beautiful blessings like love and family and adventure - but sometimes we orient our lives toward Him because we think that if we do, everything else will fall into place and our lives will be better. The Lord is a good father and will take care of us, but things of this world matter so much less than things of eternity.
Today, as we reflect and remember His hands stretched out on that tree, are we truly comprehending the significance of what we are celebrating? The cross is not just a "part" of our faith...it's the only thing that really, really matters in all of humanity. In the history of our world, nothing is more important than that last breath that Jesus took on Calvary. It changed the course of human history forever. Once the Lord has touched your life and made you clean through His sacrifice, nothing is worth going backward for. Nothing.
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