08-11-23

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
August 11, 2023
I want to ask you a couple of questions. First, what part of the Jesus story speaks to your current life experience? What in that story is truly good news? Now I ask that second question recognizing that what is good news doesn’t always feel like good news. There are plenty of folks who have gone through a struggle with addiction, including the addiction of greed or hate, and the process of naming the addiction and facing the addiction did not feel like good news. In fact, making critical changes in our lives can feel like bad news… at least until we find ourselves on the other side. In Psalm 139, we read: “I thank you because I am awesomely made, wonderfully; your works are wonders — I know this very well. My bones were not hidden from you when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.” I think part of the good news is knowing and embracing, even when we are struggling to deal with needed change in our lives, how special and beloved we are. In fact, God’s love for us is in no way tied to any sort of success in making those changes, yet that kind of love is both an inspiration and a source of strength as we seek to make the change.

​By faith, I believe I am wonderfully made and wonderfully loved. Thank you, O God of the Universe, for speaking goodness and kindness into my life as I seek to be the best I can be—for myself, for the world, and for you. Amen.