She pulled me out of quicksand. She reminded me that of course the world is full of turmoil and of course it's going to hell in a hand basket (literally) because the one who's behind all its workings hails from there. But she also reminded me that "greater is He that is in [us], than he that is in the world" (1 John 4:4).
My friend Robin is good for what ails me. This week I'm doing her a small favor, and she just did me a huge one.
Yesterday I posted how sad I feel that someone I love is doing the unthinkable - she's burying her son. Later in the day, I learned some other distressing news that shook my faith in a big way.
But it only shook my faith in human beings. The God of the universe is still right where I left Him.
Don't misunderstand. It took me 24 hours to figure out that the gospel hasn't changed just because someone I trusted let me down.
Did you catch that? Someone I trusted.
What unriveted me was the fact that, yet again, I placed my faith in the wrong arena. It doesn't belong in man. It never belonged in man. Man does what man does, and will continue to do. Man sins.
Christ does not.
But where does that leave me, trust wise? I mean, am I supposed to go through the rest of my life never trusting anyone, any situation, worst of all, myself and my own judgment?
Yeah. Yeah, that's about right. But don't stop reading because there's a happy ending.
I've often joked that the only thing predictable about me is my unpredictability. I rarely do things the same way twice. I smile at old episodes of Columbo (if you're too young to remember that 70's crime show, it's worth hunting down on Netflix), where often the addled-seeming cop catches killers because the murders they stage contradict their victims' habits. Columbo's strategy would fall apart if he were investigating my life. Many of my habits are the opposite of habits, which is why I lose my keys on a regular basis and can never remember where I put things in the refrigerator.
Similarly, the only thing trustworthy about human beings is their untrustworthiness. If that sounds cynical, so be it. Christ rebuked the religious leaders of His day for turning God's law into a "living document" that changed with whatever wayward whim their hypocritical hearts felt like following. Paul called out the Corinthian church for their abysmal record in the holiness department. The Bible doesn't close its eyes to humanity's fallen state, so why should I?
The question, then, becomes, what do I do with this life?
At times, I feel like hiding my head in the sand. Other times, I hang it in shame that I share Christ's name with so many who besmirch and defile it. In all honesty, my own spiritual walk has crooked angles, just like any other believer's. My failings may not always be obvious or newsworthy, but I'm not fooling almighty eyes.
The only thing I can trust is the one who never sinned and promises to guide me into all truth. That means that, while human minds and actions are flawed at best and evil at worst, I have a direct pipeline to infinite, good wisdom. "Good" meaning pure and clean. Enriching. Edifying. Perfect. Divine. And that wisdom belongs to someone who carries me even when this world tries to lay me flat.
In the meantime, I'll keep sharing God's truth with little folks and reminding older folks that the truth they once learned is still true, if more than a bit tarnished by its bearers. I'll do my best not to be overcome with evil, but to overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21), realizing that Christ's sacrifice at Calvary did and still does trump His doubts at Gethsemane. In short, I'll try to dig deep into the infinite pockets of "wealth" God has entrusted me with to make other lives a little richer.
Yesterday I posted how sad I feel that someone I love is doing the unthinkable - she's burying her son. Later in the day, I learned some other distressing news that shook my faith in a big way.
But it only shook my faith in human beings. The God of the universe is still right where I left Him.
Don't misunderstand. It took me 24 hours to figure out that the gospel hasn't changed just because someone I trusted let me down.
Did you catch that? Someone I trusted.
What unriveted me was the fact that, yet again, I placed my faith in the wrong arena. It doesn't belong in man. It never belonged in man. Man does what man does, and will continue to do. Man sins.
Christ does not.
But where does that leave me, trust wise? I mean, am I supposed to go through the rest of my life never trusting anyone, any situation, worst of all, myself and my own judgment?
Yeah. Yeah, that's about right. But don't stop reading because there's a happy ending.
I've often joked that the only thing predictable about me is my unpredictability. I rarely do things the same way twice. I smile at old episodes of Columbo (if you're too young to remember that 70's crime show, it's worth hunting down on Netflix), where often the addled-seeming cop catches killers because the murders they stage contradict their victims' habits. Columbo's strategy would fall apart if he were investigating my life. Many of my habits are the opposite of habits, which is why I lose my keys on a regular basis and can never remember where I put things in the refrigerator.
Similarly, the only thing trustworthy about human beings is their untrustworthiness. If that sounds cynical, so be it. Christ rebuked the religious leaders of His day for turning God's law into a "living document" that changed with whatever wayward whim their hypocritical hearts felt like following. Paul called out the Corinthian church for their abysmal record in the holiness department. The Bible doesn't close its eyes to humanity's fallen state, so why should I?
The question, then, becomes, what do I do with this life?
At times, I feel like hiding my head in the sand. Other times, I hang it in shame that I share Christ's name with so many who besmirch and defile it. In all honesty, my own spiritual walk has crooked angles, just like any other believer's. My failings may not always be obvious or newsworthy, but I'm not fooling almighty eyes.
The only thing I can trust is the one who never sinned and promises to guide me into all truth. That means that, while human minds and actions are flawed at best and evil at worst, I have a direct pipeline to infinite, good wisdom. "Good" meaning pure and clean. Enriching. Edifying. Perfect. Divine. And that wisdom belongs to someone who carries me even when this world tries to lay me flat.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Hebrews 13:8
For more like this, check out: Morsels for Meditation...: Falling in Love with the Salesman
