The summer I was six, my mother read Pilgrim’s Progress aloud to us.
Pilgrim’s Progress is a beautiful allegory written by John Bunyan. I still remember that day. The day she read to us of when the character Christian, on his journey, comes to the cross. On his journey, Christian has been carrying a burden - a burden so heavy he can hardly walk. The journey is life, and the burden is sin. When Christian comes to the cross and his burden is taken away, he is free. Free. Free from the weight of his sin and free to live for the King! I wanted to be free from the weight of my sin, free to live for the King. And so, my mother, gently shared with me how to trust Jesus - trust that He bore the weight of the punishment for my sin at the cross. Water is heavy. As we hit the trail with nearly 70 pounds on our backs, facing heat and elevation, all we could think about was our packs. And with every step, I was also thinking about Pilgrim’s Progress. Allegory is powerful because it tells the same story we are living, but in a new way, to give us new eyes to see our lives. If anyone had offered to carry my pack to the top of the mountain, I am pretty sure I would have given him everything I own. Jesus offers to take our burdens. “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:29-30 Should we not then gladly join Timothy in saying: “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” 1 Timothy 1:17 How often do I return to the weight of my sin, and attempt to carry it again? Living for my own kingdom? But Jesus offers us lasting freedom. What Grace from a King who left the throne room of heaven, came to earth, took the form of a man, and died a death He did not deserve. Grace upon grace.
0 Comments
Laying on the ground of a Chevron gas station at 11pm, duct taping the bumper of her car together.
Initially, it was her check engine light that made us stop- but after evaluating everything we could, we hoped it was a non-urgent emissions issue. So we turned our attention to the bumper. Her degree is in mechanical engineering with an emphasis on vehicle systems. Now, she works for the U.S. Federal Patent Department, evaluating patent applications for vehicle systems- mechanisms to secure tarps on semi trucks, Jeep modifications, and lots and lots of applications for vehicle bumpers. Bumpers. We finished securing her car’s bumper with duct tape. Thankfully we had a roll left from the small emergency roll we had made for our backpacking trip to Big Bend. We were coming back from spending the last three days in the Chisos mountains of southern Texas. Stunning. Breathtaking. Warm. Wild. No cell service. No showers. Delightful. After a beautiful Resurrection Sunday service at her church, we swung by O’Reilly Auto Parts. Ian said it was the busiest it had been all day- two cars. The code reader said that her catalytic converter was dirty. Imagine that. Three days in the desert - or an 18 year old car, maybe? So Ian sold her the bottle of cleaner and off we went, to take a nap, sit in the hot tub, and eat a good Texas burger. Content in the memories of our adventures and the hope of the Resurrection. Two lessons learned: God is good, and duct tape is invaluable. Loneliness is the human condition.
Not the condition of being alone. We all find ourselves in different levels of being alone. Some of us like that more than others- it’s called introversion, I hear. But have you ever felt your loneliness more at a party? Felt more lonely in a crowd? Loneliness. I think loneliness is the human condition because ultimately it represents our separation as creatures from our Creator. We are relational beings, made in Gods image to be like him. He is a relational God - therefore we are relational people. And our relational nature was made by him to be finally and fully realized and satisfied in Him. Sin separates. Loneliness is the human condition because sin is the human condition, and sin separates. Sin separates us from our Creator. If my thoughts were left here, I could never rise from my depression. But God. Those two simple words so frequently found in the New Testament are what give hope to my loneliness. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus... but now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. Ephesians 2:4-6, 13-16 Find hope tonight, my friend, in your loneliness, because Jesus is near to those whose hope is in Him! |
Naomi JoyI was born a month early, and to the surprise of my parents, I was a girl! Archives
June 2023
Categories |