Reconnecting

H,

There are all sorts of obstacles in the way of living what we consider a worthy life. Chief among them is doing it every single day. There are no holidays from sainthood. Any diversions are unintentional. It is not like you can take the great high of this sort of being and put it in a bottle. You have to live it out in the trenches of this low existence. And most of all, you will fail at it.

When we heard the great story of the seed planted in good soil we always took the stand that we were that thriving seed that bore much fruit in the end. The truth is we are at some point all those seeds. Life interrupts and chokes our promise and purpose. Weeds grow alongside our gifts and calling to love. We need to be pruned habitually. This is not a low stakes adventure. We are talking of the eternal destination of the human soul. There are no quick fixes to what has gone wrong.

It is faux bravery and folly to think that any of this is up to us. We cannot battle any darkness without the light. We cannot break through the thick crust of original and persistent sin without the never floundering Grace of God. We need to go back to that simple idea. That we need a saviour has never been in doubt. That we might let them fix us has always been the curious bone of contention.

We reconnect because we need to. We become perfect at failing and falling so we can become perfect at rising from the ashes of our constant defeat. The cracks of human endeavour and human progress do not reach the high standard of being and love. We are not here to go bigger but to go deeper. The great thing is not cathedrals or dynasties but kindness and humility. There is no place for anything other than ordinary love in eternity. This is the standard by which we falter. We judge when we should be compassionate, we talk down when we should lift up and we leave behind when we should go looking for that one lost sheep. We fall short.

The church of God is not a place for self-help gurus. The church of God will not teach you marketing skills and political tricks. The church of God is not for networking, getting ahead and instilling “kingdom principles” in ungodly behemoth corporations. It is not where we come and be who we think we are. We are here to learn who we truly are. And reconnect with that.