The darkness is fading

Winter solstice passed yesterday, so the darkest night of the year will be giving way to ever so slowly longer days. I love Winter Solstice because my husband proposed to me on that very day years ago, so it's a nostalgic reminder of God's gift in sending me him.

But I've been thinking about how dark our world has been of late, and I wanted to take a minute to remind you, Jesus acknowledged this very fact. He knew what a dark world He left glory to enter. And He chose to come to bring His light to lead us back to our Creator. But He didn't leave us in the darkness alone- He left His light in us, who are His children. He told us in fact, to "let our light shine before men" so that they too could find their way back to their Creator. It's tempting when we face the blackness to huddle together and keep our light to ourselves.

But if we claim to follow Jesus, we must go where He went. He left the brightest best place, to come into our brokenness. He leaves us no option for retreat. This is a battle and if you call yourself a christian, you've enlisted in the ranks. We must bring our light out front and center- not to battle against people but for them. We are against hatred, hopelessness, poverty, injustice, ignorance, selfishness, greed, idolatry and apathy. We are for broken, messy, sinful, sad, confused people- people who were and very much are like us. We've simply been bought out of the prison we put ourselves in and it's our job to bring the news to others. The same news the angels burst into the darkness to bring so many Christmas's ago:

"Do not be afraid! We bring you good news of great joy! Unto us this day a Savior has been born- He is Christ the Lord!"

Let's Get Real

One of the words people from my generation love to embrace is authentic. As in "I'm not fake. I tell it like it is. I don't wear a mask. I'm real." We sing it from the rooftops. No faking it. If I feel that way, I'm saying it. In fact, "I'm just sayin'" is a tag line we created as a bookend to end many a verbal commentary on someones outfit, opinion or life. I believe this desire to live authentically originated as a reaction to the "Beaver Cleaver" version of life many of us grew up feeling we should project to the world, when behind closed doors our family was anything but. But like all reactions, this motto of "Be Real" often times goes to an extreme that becomes as destructive as it's counterpart.

The solution is found in scripture and is very clear. We are instructed to "speak the truth in love" in Ephesians 5:15.  (Knowing truth is of utmost importance, because before I can express reality I need to know I'm grounded in it myself.  Jesus says, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life" so a relationship with Him is the first place to go to begin to understand what reality is.) That is the boundary given to create a safe way to both be real and accept others' realness. If I speak the truth in arrogance, hate, self-righteousness, carelessness or apathy I am not within the realm of God's will. In fact, in 1 Corinthians 13, Paul goes as far as to say that without love, my words have as much meaning as an annoying clanging gong. Kind of like when you go to a restaurant that makes all the employee's come out to sing for a customer's birthday, but to quiet the joint they bang a gong really loudly. We have a Chinese restaurant we go to that does this. I try to avoid going if at all possible. 

God always gets to the heart of the matter doesn't He? He created us to be real, and have a real relationship with Him. No hiding, no faking- just broken me coming to Him accepting His love and being transformed by it. From that place of transformational, extravagant love we receive, we can then offer a new reality to others. I can choose to be concerned about their well-being, since my deepest needs have already been met. I can choose to be patient and kind in my words and actions, since God has been so patient and kind toward me. I can express truth, even if it's painful to others, with the lens of love in place. Without that, I may be simply be a lot of white noise at best. At worst, I may be part of the brokenness another human has to live through. The truth may create a wound, but the love comes to heal it. Jesus' death on the cross tells me I am more sinful than I ever knew. (ouch) But it also tells me I am more loved than I ever dared hope. The truth, in love.