Even though...

Even though we know this world is not as it was created to be,
even though we know we are living separate from God because of our choice,
even though we know that evil has it's claws of influence in this world,
even though we know that bad things do and will happen,
even though we know that the only way to perfect peace is Christ's return,

it breaks our hearts every single time we hear that something terrible has happened,
it makes us question 'why' even when we already know the answer,
it makes us try to blame people and systems as if finding the human culprits will solve it all,
it makes us doubt the influence of good in the world,
it makes us fear when we are told not to be afraid.

So why do we act so surprised when bad things happen?  Why does it rock our world, taint our every thought and cause tears to flood our eyes when we know these things will happen again and again?  Why haven't we developed skin like armor by now?

It's because we are created in the image of God.  We might have all the facts and might be able to anticipate tragedies, but we still care despite the logic.  We have compassion.  We love and want to make things better.  Despite the madness, we see light within and beyond.  We see what could be and will be and aren't satisfied with our reality here on earth.

Despite the darkness, we care because our God cares.  Why else would we continue the seeming insanity of believing things can be different here?  We love and feel compassion because He does, so let's not lament our hurting for others.  Let's embrace it as a God-given trait that we are honored to live out.

So, if possible, let us embrace grief and sorrow in one hand and hope and light in the other.  With these two, let our feet walk us out into the world.  Both handfuls are expressions of how much we love the people God created- a very small sliver of His love and yet so incredibly powerful against the darkness that exists.  Not by our power, but by His.

We've proven we cannot fix things on our own.  Let's stop thinking we can and join Jesus in the only restructuring of society that will ever be successful.  Let's impact one life at a time for Him as He so graciously and mercifully impacts us, one life at a time.  Let's recognize that it's really a joy and privilege to be created in His image. Pin It