Friends, in Christ, we are not defined by our worst moments. 

I am such a weak hypocrite most days. And yet, I am Ross … beloved Son of God, justified brother of Christ, a messenger of the gospel of the Kingdom. It is almost too much to contemplate. 

I can’t wait for Jesus to come back - just as He went. I find myself watching the sky more and more as I get older. But remember, that His last words for us before He left were words of blessing, purpose, promise and liberating limitation.

People are incredible. People are also the worst. What a wonderfully, messy, potential and risk-riddled endeavor it is to be a human being. 

I couldn’t get Hebrews 10 out of my mind as I pondered this. Hebrews 10:25 is the verse that pastors love to remind people that they really should go to a church service on a Sunday, and it is well suited for that purpose. The writer warns that they shouldn’t be like those who neglect to meet together regularly, thus reminding us once and for all that the gathering of the saints is an essential activity in the life of the believer. But, there are three imperatives in the verses leading up to verse 25 that I think describe some of what we are supposed to be experiencing when we do gather.

Church is supposed to be a beacon of hope even (and perhaps especially) when it is surrounded by an environment of hopelessness. I loved revisiting the stories of Churchill’s leadership through the dark days of the air raids in World War II. Whenever Churchill would get updated on the damage that London had sustained the night before he would ask: “Is St Paul’s still standing?” It was, and it is, and that building served as a reminder of what the people of God are supposed to be like.

I hate waiting, for anything, and so this is the most frustrating thing the Scriptures could say to me, but it is an oft-repeated instruction for the people of God. Wait … and then wait longer … and when you’re done with that, well, wait. God operates on another timeframe. He never seems to be subject to our own time demands, and yet, He is never late.

You give your best to those who don’t care about you and you give your worst to those who do care about you deeply.

How much of our lives is spent giving the best of ourselves to people who don’t love us back, and who maybe aren’t even in our God-prescribed limited sphere of influence? Near strangers at work who we long to impress, people in casual social circles whose lives we covet deeply, people online who we don’t really know at all? And how much of our lives then ends up giving the people who love us the most, the very worst versions of ourselves?

Katie is a helper, but she is also really little, and so her helping is sometimes, um, not all that helpful. In fact, when she helps with things, it usually means that those things will need to be done twice, and so my temptation is to not include her at all. One of the places she loves to help is with the cooking. She slides a chair into the kitchen to stand on, she throws her favorite kid’s apron on, and she insists on doing things that she really isn’t capable of doing. It usually leads to a bigger mess than is necessary and more stress expenditure than was budgeted for in my emotional checking account, but it is worth it for the sense of purpose, joy, adventure and participation that it brings her. I love it when she helps, even though it isn’t all that helpful.

Hope that is deferred makes the heart sick. Hope needs to be applied in the here and now to whatever it is that you face today, in the very present tense, in the immediacy of all of life’s interruptions. Living in the constant deferred hope of some form of sanctified self and world where I am who I hope to be and the world works as it should creates a constant, restless, longing that can make the heart grow sick.

Pray for the church in Ukraine. May the Lord give them supernatural bravery and protection. Pray for the church in Russia. May the Lord use them as peacemakers able to speak boldly and persistently to those in power. Pray for world leaders who are able to influence future outcomes. May the Lord give them wisdom, humility, boldness where needed, and a heart for the good of the people they serve.