love won out

the calm before the storm

in my cozy home i sit whilst a storm is raging. a monster storm, penned frankenstorm, is brewing. a hybrid of cold freezing rain and hurricane-like winds is threatening our little-cottage-on-the hill. a storm that is like nothing ever seen over the last 100 years. the storm that is raging outside my door is not unlike the storm that is raging in our country right now.

i am not sure how to articulate this rumination of storm that has been rolling around in my mind for going on 30 years now. so like a body of cold water that begs to be enjoyed, i think i shall just jump right in. before i do, a disclaimer. the opinions expressed in this blogpost are solely mine-written from my meager understanding of my own christian beliefs.

one of my sister's best friend in high school was a handsome boy who happened to be the son of our pastor. my sister and her other best friend, a lovely girl, were always together. the three of them. they had their senior portrait made together. they were a fixture in our home. i still remember the three of them always together. swimming in our pool. chatting and laughing. going to prom. all those typical teenager-ish things. but one of those three high school friends was keeping a not so typical teenager-ish secret. a secret that ultimately killed him. he was gay.

my very intuitive sister knew his secret. how could she not? she was his best friend. and best friends share their lives with one another-even if they don't. 

i have been thinking a lot about this lately. the heated political debate about how people live. and who should be able to get married to whom. it's written on the voting ballot in my state. it embarrases me, really. have we come to this? making everything a law or an opportunity to politicize the private? giving politicos more power and prowess? paying them to fight all these imaginary dragons whilst we sink further into poverty both literal and spiritual. it makes me want to shout,"wake up!"

as a christian it feels like such a waste of time really. the time that it takes to fight another person over who they wish to love seems like time better spent loving the One who made me and them. am i missing something? if i am solely focused on the Creator, if i am gazing at Him and basking in His light, do i still have time to throw stones? to nick pick? i mean who is going to listen to a shout of hate when a whisper of love works so much more powerfully? consider the cross. i implore you. consider the cross bearer. He walked amongst the haters. He was not one of them. 

i think the church has fallen for a great big trick. it reminds me so much of c.s. lewis' book the screwtape letters. the demons are at work. and the one who is working the hardest is named Distraction. the time that it takes for a person to write a sign in protest or volunteer to get signatures protesting could have been better spent sitting with a grieving widow or tutoring a struggling student. are we too focused on what we are against that we forgot what we are for? 

the Mister and i roll these thoughts around a lot. his observation is on the hypocrisy of the church in regards to marriage. "we have no business telling other people who or how to marry when our divorce rate is out of control." 

christians, have we lost our way? love won out. jesus' love won us out. He is enough. He is bigger than our petty arguing. He is bigger than our protests. He is bigger than our well intended posturing. that, THAT is worth shouting. that is worth getting excited about. if we must make a sign, how about writing about His love? consider the gospel. the good news. He who knew no sin, bore our sin on our behalf. He went to the cross for us.    all.of.us. and we do not deserve, and we do nothing to earn it. o, good glorious gospel. that is worthy of examining and commending. be FOR that.

"turn your eyes upon jesus look full in his wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace"{hymn by helen lemmel, 1922}. 

if i am for Him, what i am against doesn't really matter much. and i am for Him.

love to you from me by Him,

gf