NewChurch Live

We all host a loyal soldier.  A part of us that with great courage and fortitude has held on and defended cherished notions of meaning and belonging.  The “good girl”, the “good boy.”

And a time comes where that loyal soldier is threatened.  Where the cherished notions of meaning and belonging fall into question.

Those are hard times.  Incredibly hard times.  Where what worked no longer does.

A loyal spouse faces a wrenching divorce. A loyal employee laid off. A loyal church member seeing their church crumble.  A loyal parent facing the rejection of a grown child. The list goes on.

Maybe ask of that loyal soldier…

1. Where did you come from?
2. What’s your role in my life?
3. What do you hope for?
4. What are you most proud of?
5. How did you give my life purpose?

And seen in this context – as a beautiful constant in one of God’s great movements in our lives…

From self control to self surrender 

This is a “stretched” time. A time that feels uneasy, disjointed.  And a time with a choice.

Challenging.  How do we hold ourselves in a time when so much is up in the air? When the pace of change calls forward and the call for restraint calls back?

When the politics of the nation create a ceaseless drumbeat of worry and, miraculously, at the same in the public square, one easily finds shoots of hope.

So a choice here and that choice is to live in the light.

Light is not detached.  Not blind.  Light helps us see.  Illuminates.  Shows twisted facts and simple deceit for what they are.

And most importantly, somehow light carries hope.

Carries the promise of daybreak.  Of better times.  Clean. Clear.

Filled with love.  Able to navigate the dark.

We can walk through the darkest night with the radiant conviction that all things work together for the good.

Rev. Martin Luther King

I was thinking yesterday about how much the mistaken work of church is applied towards judgement.  Applied to judging other and their behavior believing ‘thus is where holiness lies.’  But I don’t believe that any more.  My judgments of others leave my heart untouched.  Leave my heart untransformed.  Relationship, connection to those who suffer, who struggle – that is what changes the heart. Our opinions, righteously held, will never change us.  Lives lived together, in light, do.

That does not eliminate the hard conversation or the called-for stand.  It just says this … as best we can, lets stay in the light.

You want to see the light?  Here you go.  19 people talking. Listening.  Not broadcasting.  Beautiful!  19 people living in the light.