Food for the Soul Monday: Because He had to…

*A little nourishment for your soul to get you going*

We’ve all said it at some point in our lives, “I was at the right place at the right time.”

To some it’s the philosophy that when preparation meets luck, good things happen. However, to us who believe in God, we know that neither preparation nor luck match God’s intentionality in ordering our steps. It’s beautifully seen in the story in John 4 that we are all familiar with, the Samaritan woman at the well.

At this point in His ministry, Jesus had been winning the hearts of people through the signs, miracles and wonders He gracefully performed. Many were getting baptized and coming to the knowledge of God and the religious leaders couldn’t stand it. So Jesus decides to leave where He was in Judea, and head to Galilee. And here is where things get interesting. The scripture says,

“He had to pass through Samaria.” (John 4: 4)

Here is the thing; Samaria was located halfway between the straight shot journey between Judea and Galilee. However, during that time, the enmity between the Jews and the Samaritans ran so deep, both spiritually and racially, that Jews who would travel between those two locations would intentionally go around Samaria because they wanted nothing to do with the people. This would add days to their trip but it was so deep that they thought to get near them would contaminate them.

But Jesus HAD to pass through there. In reality, by the cultural norms of that day, He wasn’t supposed to. It was looked down on. But He had to… He had to because before the foundations of the Earth, God had a plan for this lady whom we would come to call, The Samaritan woman. He knew she would be drawing water at the hottest time of the day because of shame. He knew she would have a thirst greater than Jesus’ question for a cup of water. He knew she would need living water that would quench her thirst for eternity. And so He risks His reputation to meet her. He knew the right time and He knew the right place.

No kind of preparation or luck would cause this woman to be at this place. In fact, it had nothing to do with what she did. It had everything to do with what Christ wanted to do for her life. He met her where she was. He wanted to rescue her. He knew that because of her testimony, many would come to believe Him. (John 4:30). What great love!

Be encouraged today that this Great and Sovereign King who loves us beyond our finite comprehension, holds our times in His hand. He loves timing but more so because He loves His purpose in and for you. That thing you are waiting for, He knows the right time and the right place and He will keep meeting you where you are until you are where you’ve prayed to be. There are people that have to be sent. There are circumstances that have to happen. There are places that you have to go. Simply Trust.

Because I used to be afraid to talk about racism…

I used to be afraid to talk about racism. I found myself believing that talking about this apparent problem was going against my faith; that somehow I couldn’t be a Christian and talk about this issue because it would mean that I would be on the side of causing division rather than unity.

Then I came to realize how foolish that was. So foolish that it sounded like I was saying that I was afraid to talk about sin because somehow talking about sin meant that I wasn’t talking about the loving God who offered forgiveness and grace.

Here is why I have been freed to talk about this issue: Because the root of racism isn’t institutional. The act of institutionalization of racism is the action of sinful hearts.

And here is what I have always known: We have a Savior who helps us confront our sin while offering us amazing, radical grace.

Racism didn’t appear out of thin air. And the U.S isn’t the only place that it takes place. Since the fall of man, disunity has been the pattern created. The construct of disunity based on one’s physical feature has continued to inform how one is treated. It’s real. And God isn’t caught off guard by it. He’s been dealing with it way before the U.S came into the picture. He’s simply sickened by it.

One because it’s sin. And two because it seeks to negate the work He has done for “everyone.” Not just fair skinned. Not dark skinned. Not wide nosed. Not thin nosed.

 Everyone.

As believers, ones who have been renewed in our minds on how we view God and one another, we have been called to a ministry of reconciliation.

“One man died for everyone. That puts everyone in the same boat. He included everyone in His death so that everyone could also be included in His life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people every lived on their own.

Because of this decision, we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong as you know. We certainly don’t look at Him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is create new….We’re Christ representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. (2 Corinthians 5: 14-20 MSG)

 Powerful passage that reminds us that we have been called to act, speak, think and live in such a way that brings the distance between a person and God closer while at the same time God drawing the distance between one another closer. It reminds us that the construct of race as a dividing factor can longer be upheld as believers. It reminds us that race can’t be our idol.

There are many conversations that have erupted because of racism. And the enemy is so cunning with where he wants this conversation to lead humanity. However, we can’t be led to where he wants us to go—which is a constant state of division.

 So that’s why we as believers have to talk about racism…

Let’s talk about it because we as believers will be confronted by it in our lives and we have to know how to respond.

Let’s talk about it not for the sake of stirring up hate and division but as believers,  if we don’t, it will stir hate and division.

Let’s talk about it because its ugly head has made its way into the body of Christ and if we as His body can’t even take on the ministry of reconciliation we are called to take on, then who will?

Let’s talk about it because we have seen the power of the Gospel change our hearts and minds towards one another and we have seen Love overcome and now this message burns in our hearts for the world.

Let’s talk about it because God calls us to be the voice of those who are still victims of this sin.

Let’s talk about it because it’s darkness and our actions bring light. Why are we hiding our light under a bushel?

Let’s talk about it because we believe God can use us to deconstruct individual minds that can eventually change institutions.

Let’s talk about it because we believe that His Gospel doesn’t stop at just preaching Jesus, it’s living Jesus. And I don’t know if you’ve read the book of the gospels because you would know that Christ talked about what others tried to hide from: SIN.

We don’t have to be afraid. God isn’t intimated by this conversation. He actually would love to give us the wisdom and the grace to bring light to this so that His work can be seen in greater measures through us. He wants to make sure our conversations and actions are motivated by His love because our responsibility is to make sure that our righteous indignation doesn’t morph into self-righteousness which eventually turns into hateful actions.

These are serious times. While the enemy wreaks havoc in this world, we as believers can’t sit back and be OK with it. If there was ever a time that we need God’s presence in our individual lives AND our churches, it’s now. We have to increase our capacity to receive God’s love so that we don’t grow cold and bitter. We have to increase our sensitivity to the Spirit of God so that can fight this battle that isn’t against flesh and blood but against principalities and dark forces. He’s given us the weapons. We just have to know how to use them.

The world is dying to see what true reconciliation looks like and we as ambassadors of reconciliation have the power to show it to them through the way we come together in unity. There is so much work to be done but we have to privilege of moving the needle forward.

There is so much more I desire to say and desire to write but I will wait for another post so that I can leave you with the WORDS that truly matter: God’s Word. Here is what Jesus prays in John 17:

“I’m praying not only for them [disciples]

But also for those who will believe in me

Because of them and their witness about me.

The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind-

Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you,

So they might be one heart and mind with us.

Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me.

The same glory you gave me, I gave them,

So they will be as unified and together as we are-

I in them and you in me.

Then they’ll be mature in this oneness.

And give the godless world evidence.

That you’ve sent me and loved them.

In the same you’ve loved me.”

God isn’t a Formula…

16 years ago, I sat in the pews of chapel at my boarding school and struggled to understand what the preacher was talking about.

 My mind hadn’t grasped who Jesus was. I had heard the stories of what He did for us and how He died for us.   But if you were to ask me then what they really meant for me, I couldn’t tell you.

I sat confused.

16 years later, I live amazed by Him and I live for Him. Not that I have figured Him out completely, but within those years, my eyes, my ears, my heart and my life opened up to know God. His love. His grace. His mercy. His ways. His word.

Someone recently asked me how  I manage to stay this committed? How did I get to where I am in God?

I had asked myself that question once before, but I think this was the first time I received such a deep revelation about God and what a relationship with Him means.

I could have easily answered my friend by saying it was through reading my Word + praying + going to church+ going to conferences+ worshiping + doing good deeds + [whatever fits] equaled a closer relationship with God.

But that would be FAR from the truth.

As I sat to think about this question and reflect on my journey, one simple truth resonated in my heart:

 There is NO formula to a relationship with God.

God is far from a formulaic equation. He goes beyond that kind of limitation.

 Formulas are predictable. Our lives are NOT.

A relationship with God isn’t a 1-2-3 step program, nor is it a check off the list kind of task.

You don’t arrive because you followed a tutorial.

I don’t know if you have read the bible, but if we have an honest look at those whom God chose to tell us about, they don’t have pretty and primped stories. No. They were messy. Complicated. Dramatic. Gut-wrenching stories.

Consider David, whom God called a “man after His own heart.” Committed adultery. Committed murder. Committed rebellion.  Yet he captured God’s heart.

Consider Peter, who denied Jesus 3 times. Not at different points in his life. No, it happened one after the other, in one setting. Yet, Jesus said He would build His church upon the fact that Peter had the revelation that Jesus was the Son of God.

Consider the woman caught in adultery. Brought to Jesus by the teachers of the law because what she had done was damnable. Yet, Jesus spoke these words that would forever change the trajectory of her life: “Neither do I condemn you…” (John 8:11)

I don’t know about you but the way God responds to each of these lives is outside of any formula. It’s within the heart of that person. Unique. Tailor-made.

His love doesn’t respond to formula. It responds to desperation. It responds to hunger. It responds to the cries of our individual and unique hearts for the more that we didn’t even know we needed until our eyes were pried open to this light, this love, this touch that felt different from any other thing we had ever chased.

He responds to our everyday mess-ups. Failures. Disobedience. Rebellion.

Jesus responds to those who are looking for an answer. Not to those who think they know HOW to find that answer.

So how do I stay committed?

I keep living. I keep walking. I keep waking up every day in NEED of Him. I keep running back even when I want to run away. I keep seeing and experiencing His love for me and that has made me run faster and faster back to Him.

I think the great philosopher and theologian, Augustine of Hippo, said it best when he wrote:

 “To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek Him the greatest adventure; to find Him, the greatest human achievement.”

I have fallen in love with my Savior. And that has made all the difference.