We live in a violent world. People kill each other. Parents kill children, “friends” backstab, very often the race in the job market means people stepping on other people to somehow get to the top, and some people die of hunger while others feed their faces. The world is cold in its perversion. Seriously, it makes me sick. There is only so much I can handle, but what is worse, I have a habit of being as humanly flawed as the next human.
But there is serendipity, a surprise, and it is nothing short of a miracle. It’s the phone call from an old friend. It’s someone seeing your gifts on a hard day when you feel like you have nothing to give. It’s a thankful voice when you feel like you have a thankless job. It’s someone speaking to your heart when your heart doesn’t have the strength to speak to them. It’s love when you feel unlovable.
“The phenomenon” of life is the love of God. The miracle is that God chooses to reveal His perfect, mysterious love to an imperfect world.
I’m really good at screwing up. It’s not that I TRY to screw up…it just happens. There are people out there who don’t like me. I know, I know, how could anyone not like me? My beautiful blue eyes, the cute gap in my two front teeth, my incredibly unique volleyball serve…the list goes on. However, my feet are prone to wander. The whole parable that Jesus told about the one sheep that wanders away from the fold? Yup, that was me. I don’t want to screw up…I just do. I’ve set up intricate systems of accountability in my life, but it doesn’t keep me from wandering off. Being a sheep is tough. You eat stuff all day, every once in a while you eat too much. You follow the herd: if they go to the grass by the water tower, that’s where you go. If they go to the water hole, you follow. Ok, I suck at being a sheep. I want adventure. My roomate in college, Ted the Irish Theologan, told me one day, “Joel, there are three types of people in life: Leaders, Followers, and Mixer-up-ers.” “Joel,” he said, “you are a Mixer-up-er.” I think God likes mixer-up-ers. As a mixer-up-er I know that I cannot do life on my own. I wander, and fall on my butt. I wander into dark gullies, I get myself lodged in caves, and many-a-time have I gotten myself caught in thorny brush. I cry out. Soon I hear the voice of my Shepherd calling out my name. For a second I’m scared that He’s going to be mad at me…but when our eyes meet I don’t see anger. Sometimes I see compassion, because what I’ve gotten myself into hurts. Sometimes I see laughter, because sometimes what I’ve gotten myself into is a funny predicament. But regardless, what I always see there is: LOVE.
It has been said somewhere in my past that:
“Love is the active concern for the life and growth of that which is loved.”
The Phenomenon is that God not only created us and loves us, but that He is continually active in loving us. He never stops. Even if you don’t WANT Him to love you, He still does. It’s sort of annoying, but I need someone whose active love for me is stronger than my tendency to wander away.