#Rethink - June 2020

Hello June! This month we are wondering how to live in tension, contemplating a minor prophet, and pondering the next step in racial reconciliation.

How do we live in the tension of grace and truth?

We live in such a divided world. In almost every area of life people chose sides and put other people into a box. The Christian culture is no different. But Jesus didn't choose sides and He definitely wasn't boxable. He walked the Awkward Middle Way of grace and truth. He one hundred percent loved people and he one hundred percent believed and taught truth.

I listened to a sermon by Pastor Robert Madu yesterday and the man nailed it. (See sermon below.) We are so quick to be off balance in one way or another...truth people or grace people. But we need to be like Jesus, "filled with grace AND truth" (John 1:14).

What would it look like in your life to walk the narrow middle way of Jesus?
How have you picked sides and how has that caused you to struggle with grace or truth?
What if both extremes of grace or truth are based in human reasoning rather than in God's wisdom?

"'Behold the days are coming,' declares the Lord GOD, 'when I will send a famine on the land -- not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water; but of hearing the words of the LORD'" Amos 8:11.

I've been reading in the minor prophets since COVID first happened. Somehow knowing that life has fallen apart and disasters have occurred before but God never lost control is comforting to me.

This verse hit me last week. Especially knowing the history of Israel -- how there were 400 years of silence after they finished their captivity. Four hundred years without hearing a word from GOD. The prophet Malachi finished up in the 400s BC and then it was quiet until "...when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son" (Galatians 4:4).

Part of me feels like we are in this kind of a time again. Not because God has stopped speaking...but because we have stopped listening. Humanity seems to think that we have the answers by ourselves. That we don't need God. But if the last few months have taught me anything, it's that we can't do it alone. We are messed up and powerless. We need a Savior!

What if we recognized our need and we hungered and thirsted for the word of God as in a famine? What if we actually found the Fountain of Living Water?

George Floyd was killed and suddenly many of us (who had never really pondered the effects of racism) were struck with facts that forced us to evaluate our own beliefs. For me, the big eye opener came in the form of a Facebook video I watched by Grand Rapids pastor Chase Stancle. Chase offered some heartfelt thoughts about what it means for him to be a black man. About the ways he is automatically viewed as a threat just because he's a black male. About how he has to work extra hard not to startle or intimidate white people when he's out biking or running.

I'd honestly never thought about it before. Because I am a white woman who never faces these things. White privilege -- some people react to those words, but the fact that I never have to worry about people thinking that I am an intimidating threat just because of my gender and the color of my skin is a privilege. People with white skin have many of these privileges.

I instantly thought of my brother-in-law, who is African American, and remembered some of the things he's said that didn't used to make sense. I thought of my two little nephews who are mixed but who will grow up in a society that sees them as black.

I wondered about my favorite grocery manager at the Meijer where I Shipt shop. He is so friendly and funny, but he's also young, tall, and black. I wondered if he feels pressure to be extra nice and friendly because he is working in a mostly white store. I felt sadness and frustration.

Many of us have had our eyes similarly opened recently. So where do we go from here as a church? As Christians? I feel like the church is where racial reconciliation needs to start. Because all of us, no matter the color of our skin, love the same Jesus. Because we have the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom. Because we have experienced grace. I don't have answers, but I am definitely open to conversation!

Thanks for taking a moment to #Rethink some of our religious traditions and beliefs. I know that it can be scary to deconstruct and reconstruct our faith, but finding the Real Jesus is absolutely worth it. As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts, questions, or comments.