“Never throughout history has a man who lived a life of ease left a name worth remembering.”
― Theodore Roosevelt
EZEKIEL 34-35
JOURNAL
In all honesty I struggle to crave God's word. There are days when this is the desire of my heart but there are way too many when this is not the primary emotion and desire. I know growing up in the church this was a huge struggle of mine. I didn't see people openly struggle in their faith. It was mostly all smiles, sunshine and rainbows. I often doubted and wondered why my experience was different. I felt that there must be something wrong with me or that my experience of God must not be genuine.
Then as I got older I realized that behind those smiles was struggle, heartache and real pain. It caused me to really question everything. I felt deceived and duped and the thought crept in that maybe it was all just a big hoax. I thought that maybe the Bible and Christianity was just a way to take people's money and manipulate them. It was during this time that I first began to really read the Bible...I wanted to know the truth, I wanted to get to the bottom of all my questions.
What I found was real people...struggling, sinning, failing...yet still being forgiven and loved by God. I read about murderers and adulterers. I read about liars and thieves. I read about those that were immensely rich and those that were destitute. Yet they all struggled, they all hurt and none of them ever really escaped this world unscathed. Heartache, struggle and pain were the commonality among them all.
This was such a dramatic contrast to the outward appearance of many of the people who claimed to follow Christ in my world. It was very disorienting to me and still sometimes is...especially when I find myself doing the very same. Yet there was something that was different for those with whom God had become their God. Although they struggled they had a hope that sustained them in ways that was inspiring. They still experienced joy in the midst of heartache, they gave though they had nothing to give, they loved those that hated them and forgave without demanding retribution.
Around a year ago I had a conversation with someone on why I follow God. As I dug into this question honestly, I realized that my faith is because of the authentic mess of the lives of those in the Bible. It is because of their contradictions and struggles that I am able to identify and have hope. It is because their lives are laid open and I am able to really see the mess that allows me to really believe in the joy. It is because I am able to see the struggle that allows me to have faith in their redemption.
As I come back around to these verses...I can better understand Peter's letter. He has struggled, he has failed, he has betrayed...he has been there and experienced it and come out the other side. He is not writing this from a pompous position of ease and comfort, he is writing this as one who is struggling and will continue to struggle. It is in this struggle that I find comfort, that I find hope and that I can experience the warmth and joy of my savior.
Then as I got older I realized that behind those smiles was struggle, heartache and real pain. It caused me to really question everything. I felt deceived and duped and the thought crept in that maybe it was all just a big hoax. I thought that maybe the Bible and Christianity was just a way to take people's money and manipulate them. It was during this time that I first began to really read the Bible...I wanted to know the truth, I wanted to get to the bottom of all my questions.
What I found was real people...struggling, sinning, failing...yet still being forgiven and loved by God. I read about murderers and adulterers. I read about liars and thieves. I read about those that were immensely rich and those that were destitute. Yet they all struggled, they all hurt and none of them ever really escaped this world unscathed. Heartache, struggle and pain were the commonality among them all.
This was such a dramatic contrast to the outward appearance of many of the people who claimed to follow Christ in my world. It was very disorienting to me and still sometimes is...especially when I find myself doing the very same. Yet there was something that was different for those with whom God had become their God. Although they struggled they had a hope that sustained them in ways that was inspiring. They still experienced joy in the midst of heartache, they gave though they had nothing to give, they loved those that hated them and forgave without demanding retribution.
Around a year ago I had a conversation with someone on why I follow God. As I dug into this question honestly, I realized that my faith is because of the authentic mess of the lives of those in the Bible. It is because of their contradictions and struggles that I am able to identify and have hope. It is because their lives are laid open and I am able to really see the mess that allows me to really believe in the joy. It is because I am able to see the struggle that allows me to have faith in their redemption.
As I come back around to these verses...I can better understand Peter's letter. He has struggled, he has failed, he has betrayed...he has been there and experienced it and come out the other side. He is not writing this from a pompous position of ease and comfort, he is writing this as one who is struggling and will continue to struggle. It is in this struggle that I find comfort, that I find hope and that I can experience the warmth and joy of my savior.
4As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual housea to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6For in Scripture it says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame.”b
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