Value of Vulnerability

In a culture where we value strength and perfection, vulnerability is often viewed as weakness.
(the very word comes from its Latin root meaning "to wound")

Over the past year, I've strove to open up in my relationships and show the most intimate sides of myself to those whom I love. Some of this has been done right on these pages, through this blog.

How vulnerable are we as Christians? Most of us are slim to none.

We're self-protective, politically correct, and afraid.

Afraid of getting hurt. Afraid of being rejected. Afraid. Afraid. Afraid.

Instead of embracing vulnerability, we've done the exact opposite. We've built lives disconnected from love; lived defensively, detached, isolated and rigid, where one cannot personally grow or relationally grow with God and others.

Newsflash: there is no safety or security in this life. Our only guarantee is eternal life which Jesus has secured for us.

Vulnerability is good and even commanded from God. Jesus told us to have child-like faith. A young child is vulnerable- trusting, open, and accepting.

We all want to feel and know we are secure in this world, but to what degree can we and at what expense?

“There is no safe investment. To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket – safe, dark, motionless, airless – it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell.” - C.S. Lewis

It's Still Easter

It's Monday, Easter's come and gone. And most of us are bombarded with life's distractions and long to-do lists after a weekend of relaxation.

It's easy to mentally set aside the message of Easter for another 364 days.

Jesus' resurrection isn't something to celebrate once a year and then place in the back of our minds. It’s something that should be on our hearts and influence our actions every single day.

But if we're honest with ourselves, we often fail to see the Resurrection evidenced in our everyday lives. We still argue with loved ones, we're still overwhelmed with work or school, we're saddened at the suffering and selfishness in the world around us. Like the two men on the Road to Emmaus we wonder, “But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel” (Luke 24:21a).

Do things seem pretty much the same as before Easter Sunday? Are you still trying to fight sin with your own strength? Like the men on the Road to Emmaus, we too are in need of our eyes being opened:

Because Jesus lives, our sins are really forgiven. Because Jesus lives, the devil is really defeated. Because Jesus lives, resurrection and eternal life have been won for us.

Don't let this truth fade into the noise of your life.

The disciples surely didn't. They witnessed their Savior's crucifixion, and when they saw Him alive it changed their world.  They couldn’t help but spread the news. They didn't restrict celebrating to one mere day, but lived whole lives of celebration. They knew that because Jesus lived, they too would live.

May the reality of our Savior’s empty tomb fill you with joy, hope, and peace not only yesterday, but today, and every day to come.

T.G.I.F.

Today's the day we commemorate The Passion;

The day we reflect on Jesus' sacrifice of atonement for us.

This day holds such significance because we will never understand God until we understand the cross.

The Romans considered death by crucifixion to be not just an execution, but the most obscene, the most disgraceful, the most horrific means of death known to mankind.

But I'm going to refrain from going into medical detail. Because all too often, we focus primarily on the physical suffering that Jesus underwent for us. In doing so, we actually lessen the significance of what He accomplished. It is not the physical sufferings of Jesus that the Bible emphasizes.

Christ endured the wrath of God against all of our sin. Not only did He endure hell for us, but He conquered it. That we might not perish, but have eternal life.

"God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." - 2 Corinthians 5:21

23 simple words. 26 short syllables. But miss this and you miss the truth of God.

And here is the "News" of the Gospel, which makes this Friday so "Good": it doesn't matter what sins you've committed, how much you've accumulated, or how guilty you feel. When Jesus cried out "It is finished", it was not just a mere proclamation, but a spiritual truth. The penalty for sin has been paid in full. What He accomplished in His death was so total, so complete that it could never be repeated. When you believe you are too terrible for God's forgiveness, you offend the work of the cross by claiming it insufficient. There is nothing more that could save you, the death of Christ was enough. Accept the gift of salvation extended to you by means of the cross, and rejoice.  Because God claims everything, even this day on which our Savior died, and orchestrates it for His good.

"Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken and smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed."- Isaiah 53: 4&5