2020 Hindsight

Like so many, I am looking back at 2020 as it draws to a close and wondering at the chaos that characterized it. High on the list is the pandemic, which overwhelmed the entire world and still does. The numbers of people affected are staggering, especially in the United States. So many lives lost. The economy took a major hit and millions experienced job loss, instability, and a new level of fear.  

I note the protests of 2020. Racism was confronted in a movement of many people of different colors and ethnicities. Tension reigned, yet large numbers of persons came together with a unified purpose, and old ideas and symbols were toppled. It was a time that was overdue.

Politics also dominated our nation during a contentious election that pitted even family members against each other. Sadly, Christians were not immune, which was a very disturbing sight. Protests and violence erupted, and I admit, I had very strong feelings myself. But as 2020 closes, we need to drop the rhetoric and move as one body to help heal our nation, not continue divisive arguments. 

On a personal level, while all these events affected me, I also had my share of trauma that shaped my year. I suffered a bad leg break and was disabled for over four months. Pain and a degree of suffering shadowed my life for a season. I also retired in the midst of everything. Many congratulated me on the next stage of my life, but I still have mixed emotions about the decision. I'm unsettled still. 

I have no doubt my readers could share stories of 2020 nightmares. But I believe we can also look back and see positives, even if you can only say you learned to make bread. I learned patience in suffering. I've suffered before on numerous occasions, but I was completely unprepared for what life threw at me. I was stuck at home, as were many, with limited exposure to others. Yet God was in the midst, and there were opportunities to be in his presence in fresh ways. While there was stress, there was also peace in knowing God had everything under control, even if we didn't see or feel it. You may fear the world is going to hell in a handbasket, but you are still safe in God's hands. 

Unprecedented upheavals have punctuated human history. We are not immune to them, but we can keep faith, hope, and love. The greatest of these is love. Love drives us to better the lives of others in this world. Love compels us to approach our heavenly Father and seek not just solace but also our marching orders for the coming year.

I have no idea what we will face in 2021. Life could be even more challenging. Or we could see better times. In The Lord of the Rings, Gandalf listens to Frodo say he wished he had not lived to experience such a difficult journey. His reply? "So do all who live to see such times, but it is not for us to choose our times, but to choose what we will do with the time we are given." Spoken like the Lord. 

Our tomorrows are shaped by what we choose as we journey the path God has laid out for us. May this coming year find you choosing the road less traveled trusting in the goodness of God. 

Mended Relationships

 I have the old classic Righteous Brothers hit, "That Lovin' Feeling" stuck in my head today. I'm sure all the Baby Boomers know the song I'm talking about. A sad 'lost my love song': "bring back that lovin' feeling." Not sure why it came to mind, but I'm a frequent victim of earworms. At least this isn't an annoying commercial ditty and I like the Righteous Brothers. 

The number of broken heart songs is staggering. Every genre of popular music has standard favorites that seem to stand the test of time. It has always been a go-to for country music and rock alike. It's not surprising. I don't think there is a single person who has escaped the experience of a relationship gone wrong. Humanity has that common, whether it's puppy love or bitter divorce.

There is a deep current of need for connection with another. Whether or not you believe in a first created human there is no denying many people seek to connect with a power higher than themselves. It's because we were made for relationship beyond other humans. God put in us a desire to know him. We were fashioned for love, given and returned. Love that does not quit when things get messy. People give up easily really. God does not. His love is often one-sided, has been since we stumbled in Eden and lost our first love. 

Love is not just a feeling. It goes beyond whatever our emotions are at any given moment with others. The good news is we have a Savior who redeemed our broken relationship with God and in reconciling us to him, he reconciled us to each other. His enduring love has been shown to us in a baby in a manger. It is the promise of ages. 

Merry Christmas!

Larger Than Life

Larger than life! I've heard and used that exclamation countless times. It's generally used to describe people who defy normalcy in ways commoners such as myself go about living. Larger than life can apply to the famous and infamous alike, but most often for those who are deeply admired for feats and attainments they've managed. The great explorers, the business tycoons and engineers of the American 19th century. Athletes who seem to go beyond what is humanly possible. Military leaders, presidents, kings, and queens. The list could go on. But when "Larger than life" applies only to those who are widely known for grand exploits, it falls short. 

Several thousand years ago there lived a man who dwelled in the desert, ate locusts, and never touched alcohol. Odd, to say the least. Yet his life was prophesized. He dared to speak out against the corruption of the religious leaders and the Roman installed ruler, Herod. The man's name was John, known to us as John the Baptist. He preached repentance saying the Kingdom of God was at hand. If anyone was larger than life, it was possibly him. Many came to him to be baptized. He was called a prophet. 

John could have claimed the title and yet, he eschewed it. He said there was one coming whose sandals he was unworthy to tie. One who would not baptize with water, but with the Holy Spirit and fire. His cousin by birth. A humble carpenter who came out of a small Galilean backwater town. The world knows him as the man Jesus, who may or may not have actually existed. But if he did, much of what the bible records may not be true. Maybe he was a wise teacher at best. Yet Christians claim him as the Son of God and Man. The long-awaited Messiah. 

His life was one of poverty, homeless and nomadic in order to preach the good news of God's favor throughout Israel. He declared God's mercy and his boundless love for humanity. He said follow me and simple, common people did. He said come to me and I will give you rest for your souls, for my burden is easy, unlike those of the religious and political leaders. He carried the good news of reconciliation between God and people for three years, never making money or gaining power from it. In the end, he was murdered through public execution for crimes he did not commit. Those who ordered it thought that was the end of him and his message. We know the rest of the story, yet it continues to unfold with each birth and death. 

It's Advent, the yearly wait for the birth of the King of kings and Lord of lords. Not in glory, but in a rude stable. From a humble beginning came One who owns the title Larger than Life. Let's wait humbly and hopeful for his coming. For he will come again. We celebrate his first entry into the world as an infant, but he will come this time in all the glory the universe can hold. Amen. Come Lord Jesus.