Life Gets Messy Sometimes
"Life gets messy sometimes", I say as I dip into the bag for another scoop of oil absorber (kitty litter-esque stuff). Seems like no matter how hard we try, we still make a mess! We put buckets down on top of plastic sheeting, and yet, there it is--a huge puddle of oil, transmission fluid, brake fluid, or coolant. Right there on my nice, smooth (and slippery-when-wet) concrete floor. What's a boy to do? Life does, indeed, get messy sometimes.
Due to our fallen world, messes are inevitable. Even if we have the best intentions, we can still choose our words or actions poorly and hurt the ones we love. Recently, I said some things to my beautiful wife in the spirit of honesty and intimacy, but wound up using some wording that did not communicate that spirit very well. My intention was to state that I was concerned, but hopeful about our situation. It came across as something very different. She was hurt, and I was left trying to explain myself, still not doing a very good job of it.
Our churches are not immune to this fact of life either. Many a soul has been damaged by a well-intentioned word from a believer who truly cares about the eternal destination of the receiver. In fact, the church is just a bunch of fallen, imperfect souls trying to get it right. Very rarely are we capable of such feats. That's where the good news of the Gospel comes into play: GRACE.
The book of Romans is quickly becoming my favorite book of the Bible. It is full of "meat and potatoes" wisdom concerning theology and the basics of believing. One of my favorite sections is Romans 5:6-8 It reads: You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Let that last part sink in for a moment...I'll wait...
Ok, that's long enough. "While we were still sinners..." Not: "After we got our crap together" or "We finally got our ducks in a row, then Christ died for us." While we were still sinners... Doesn't that speak to something beautiful? God loved us enough to offer the ultimate sacrifice, even when we didn't want it or think we need it.
How can we put that into practice? Quite frankly, I'm not 100% sure. I'm working on it. Maybe it's being more tolerant of those around us who don't have it all together. Maybe giving the guy/girl who just said or did something I don't understand the benefit of the doubt instead of being so quick to judgement. Maybe it's as simple as keeping my big mouth shut. I think it has something to do with loving people where they are (kinda like God did) instead of waiting for them to meet my standards first.
I'd love to hear from you: How can we put this teaching into practice? What does that look like? What kind of freedom should that knowledge give us? Please leave a thought in the comment section if you feel comfortable.
A quick update on the mess: I think I'm finally done making messes on my garage floor as far as Isabella is concerned. However, I just bought another 40lb back of oil absorber for the CRUSTang. I would have thought I'd learned from my other project. Apparently not. This one might actually be worse!
Kinda like my spiritual life :) Messy.
Due to our fallen world, messes are inevitable. Even if we have the best intentions, we can still choose our words or actions poorly and hurt the ones we love. Recently, I said some things to my beautiful wife in the spirit of honesty and intimacy, but wound up using some wording that did not communicate that spirit very well. My intention was to state that I was concerned, but hopeful about our situation. It came across as something very different. She was hurt, and I was left trying to explain myself, still not doing a very good job of it.
Our churches are not immune to this fact of life either. Many a soul has been damaged by a well-intentioned word from a believer who truly cares about the eternal destination of the receiver. In fact, the church is just a bunch of fallen, imperfect souls trying to get it right. Very rarely are we capable of such feats. That's where the good news of the Gospel comes into play: GRACE.
The book of Romans is quickly becoming my favorite book of the Bible. It is full of "meat and potatoes" wisdom concerning theology and the basics of believing. One of my favorite sections is Romans 5:6-8 It reads: You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Let that last part sink in for a moment...I'll wait...
Ok, that's long enough. "While we were still sinners..." Not: "After we got our crap together" or "We finally got our ducks in a row, then Christ died for us." While we were still sinners... Doesn't that speak to something beautiful? God loved us enough to offer the ultimate sacrifice, even when we didn't want it or think we need it.
How can we put that into practice? Quite frankly, I'm not 100% sure. I'm working on it. Maybe it's being more tolerant of those around us who don't have it all together. Maybe giving the guy/girl who just said or did something I don't understand the benefit of the doubt instead of being so quick to judgement. Maybe it's as simple as keeping my big mouth shut. I think it has something to do with loving people where they are (kinda like God did) instead of waiting for them to meet my standards first.
I'd love to hear from you: How can we put this teaching into practice? What does that look like? What kind of freedom should that knowledge give us? Please leave a thought in the comment section if you feel comfortable.
A quick update on the mess: I think I'm finally done making messes on my garage floor as far as Isabella is concerned. However, I just bought another 40lb back of oil absorber for the CRUSTang. I would have thought I'd learned from my other project. Apparently not. This one might actually be worse!
Kinda like my spiritual life :) Messy.
Since I'm studying the book of Romans, I agree with you. I can't preach or talk the talk, but I've been enjoying the class. It definitely has the meat and potatoes. After our trip to Ecuador and meeting a family who have nothing but are so positive about the future, it's made me alot more tolerant and I'm trying to understand what I should be doing. Intereting messy comments, it helps a bit for me to hear you and understand better.
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