Go and Sin no More...

I've stayed quiet about current happenings that have the media buzzing. I have opinions, but they don't always need to be stated. And recently as I was reading a headline, it struck me-- Christians are NEVER called to be hateful.

Now, there is a huge difference between engaging in a discussion, or even calling others to live by high standards and hate, but far too often, I think, controversial topics become bashing sessions. They become hateful banter. They are rooted in pride and are not meant to draw others closer to the Lord or to spread the Gospel. They are simply meant to make an angry, ranting point that perhaps, at the end of the day does more harm than good.

How do we hold to our convictions and to the truth of scripture and yet lovingly, gracefully and tactfully have conversations about moral issues? I don't think its the way we've been doing it.

When I look at Jesus' life, I am amazed by the incredible amount of grace and love he showed to those that were caught in sin, or were confused or stuck or simply didn't know what to do with their lives. He did not condone sin, but he so deeply loved the individual and they walked away feeling valued, built up and genuinely cared for, as Jesus called them to 'go and sin no more' (John 8:11). He was calling them to a higher standard than what they had for themselves, but he also looked upon them with all of the love and value that anyone could bestow. He cared a lot more about their souls and their relationship with Him and the Father than He did about condemning their sin and feeling the need to call out everything they did wrong.

 He cared about relationship.

He didn't care about status. Or being 'cool'. Or making sure everyone was towing the line constantly. He cared about the status of individual souls, and that happened only through a caring relationship and through the deep, deep love that only Jesus could show.

So I guess I don't know exactly what my response to every hot button issue should be. But I know for a fact that it should NOT be one of hate. Pride. Condemnation. Because that is not Jesus' way. And I cannot in good conscience call out everyone else's sin without first looking into my own messy heart and asking the Lord to work in the midst of rubble.

My resolve is to show a little more love and little more care, a little more genuine interest and a little less judgment and shock at the brokenness of the world. 

Sanctification hurts, but it is the Lord's working in our lives and is the most 'worth it' thing I can think of-- becoming more like Jesus is always worth it.

Here's to learning to love better.

On Being 'Busy' and Learning to Rest.

Busy.

Its the buzz word of the century it seems. if you stop and ask anyone over the age of 10 about their lives, the word 'busy' is sure to make its way into the conversation.

Everyone is busy.

And I get it, life is demanding. There are bills to be paid, groceries to be bought, mouths to be fed, children to be loved, bathed, put to bed, taught, driven to school. There are jobs and church and volunteer and friends and family and the list goes on and on. Sometimes it seems as though the day is severely lacking in hours needed to complete everything on the 'to do' list called 'LIFE.'

American culture doesn't help. Subtly, culture has taught us that 'busy'= valuable, 'not busy'= not valuable. We've been led to believe that being busy is close to godliness. That's how the saying goes, right...??

My parents modeled really well the unique and difficult balance of hard work, and resting well. I don't know any other people that had that part of their lives balanced quite as well. Growing up I always knew that I was expected to work hard at school and at whatever task was before me-- to give it my best effort. But I was also taught to enjoy simplicity-- down time. To revel in it and embrace it. Sundays were our 'day of rest' and boy, did we rest. Taking a three hour nap while simultaneously stuffing my face with nachos and watching Nascar races counts as rest... 

I recently graduated from University and I've heard the classic questions hundreds of times by this point "What are you going to do with your life?" Its daunting, really. But I appreciate that people are curious and that they care. 

I decided before I graduated that I was going to take some time off. I was not going to work for a while. After all, I had literally had the busiest, most difficult, challenging, most rewarding, fun, full of laughter, full of tears, draining and rewarding year of my life. From sun up to sun down I was going. Constantly. And that is hard on a person, long term. 

I've been home for over a month now, and people start to get antsy. They start to expect me to have a job by now. And I expect that too. But it isn't my reality, and in fact, my body is still recovering. And recovery is sometimes a long and fragile process. It cannot be rushed. So, 'recovery' in this case requires rest. And for me, right now, 'rest' means being content with taking care of our home (you would not believe the number of dishes two people can make in a day... ridiculous...), being present with my family, investing in friends lives-- helping plan weddings, and watch their babies and listen to their goals and plans. It involves making good on that goal of exercising regularly (I actually enjoy running now. I know, I nearly went into shock when I realized that too...). Its about bringing my cat to the vet and taking pictures of important events and going out to brunch with my sister. 

Right now, my life is about the simple things. Loving the Lord and loving those in my direct line of influence. This is always my goal, but right now that is seen through the simplicity of my life. 

And perhaps this glorification of busy actually hurts us more than it helps. Perhaps its become an idol and a place in which we've found our identity more than it is about living fully. 

I am convinced that when God was creating, He chose to rest on the seventh day as an example to His children. As a reminder of the importance of rest.  

So here is to simplicity and remembering that my identity, your identity does NOT come from being busy. I can be busy and not be productive. I can have a relatively free schedule and be more productive than one might imagine. 

Time is the most valuable gift I can give to another. I am grateful that right now, I have an abundance of it to give. I think I am able to love others in a less hurried way because of it. 

So my friends, learn to REST. It is not easy, and I am by no means an expert, but I am learning (by default, and my body rebelling against me) what it looks like to both live fully and to rest well.  

Rest was God's idea, after all.