God2Share

I have always loved taking pictures.

From my parent’s Polaroid to my first Kodak Disc Camera (totally dating myself here), 

I loved capturing life’s moments.

Back then you had to wait for your pictures to be developed at CVS.

Impatient, I would usually get the “hour” service.

And always double prints, in case I wanted to share with a friend.

Today, we take pictures on our phones and share with 100 people immediately.

If we don’t like the angle of the picture, we delete it and try again.

We crop out “unsightly” areas that we don’t want others to see.

And while Snapchat filters and edits can be fun, these images are far away from what we started with … unedited versions of ourselves.

We don’t just do this in pictures.

We edit many things in our day to day life.

We are careful about what we allow others to see.

My house may appear one way if you come to visit.

But if you open the door to my bedroom, you will likely find all of the things that I had piled on the counter that I did not have time to put away.

Why do we edit our lives so much?

Fear of rejection? Judgement ?  Shame?

Sometimes, we believe we have to edit ourselves before we come to God.

Like getting a visitor at our home, we try to hide the things we don’t want Him to see.

But there is nothing about us that surprises our Creator.

Not our emotions.

Not our bad habits.

Not our appearance.

He sees all of life’s moments.

We cannot hide anything from Him.

“ Lord, you have examined me

    and know all about me.

 You know when I sit down and when I get up.

    You know my thoughts before I think about them.

 You know where I go and where I lie down.

    You know everything I do.

 Lord, even before I say a word,

    you already know it.

 You are all around me—in front and in back—

    and have put your hand on me.

 Your knowledge is amazing to me;

    It is more than I can understand.

 Where can I go to get away from your Spirit?

    Where can I run from you?”  Psalm 139 : 1 -7

Friends, He knows everything about us.

Amazingly, He still loves us.

The unfiltered, unscripted, unedited version of us.

But our heavenly Father sees His children through the filter of His love.

His perfect love.

“There is no fear in love. Perfect love puts fear out of our hearts. People have fear when they are afraid of being punished. The man who is afraid does not have perfect love.”  

1 John 4: 18 NLV

I am grateful that I do not need to edit myself before I come to our God.

He sees all of me and through His grace loves me anyway.

Friends, do you want God to be a visitor in your home or to take up residence there?

There is no need to hide what we don’t want Him to see.

There is no need to edit yourself.

There is nothing to fear.

Because His love for us is perfect.

Amen.

The weight of grief has been heavy in our area over the past few weeks.

Two greatly respected and loved individuals left this earth too soon.

The ripple effect could be felt by people across all generations and backgrounds, as both women were deeply engaged in the community.

And even though I did not have a personal relationship with either, the sense of loss around me has been profound.

Although no words can soothe the pain, many heartfelt gestures have served as reminders that others were not alone in their grief.

The weight of grief got even heavier on Sunday.

The news of Kobe Bryant’s death stunned the world.

A greatly respected and loved individual, along with his daughter and 7 others, left this earth too soon.

The ripple effect could be felt by people across all generations and backgrounds around the country, as Kobe was deeply engaged in the global community.

And even though I did not have a personal relationship with this famous basketball player, the sense of loss around me has been profound.

Kobe Bryant was an individual who was woven into the fabric of many lives.

Although no words can soothe the pain, many heartfelt gestures from people all over the world serve as reminders that others were not alone in their grief.

Kobe was not just engaged in the community, he was with his community when his helicopter crashed.

He was with people he did life with.

There is something tragic and comforting about this fact all at the same time.

These untimely deaths leave many, myself included, with one looming question: why?

There is no explanation that will ever really satisfy those who bear the weight of unspeakable grief.

So I go to the One I do have a personal relationship with – Jesus.

And I am reminded that even in our grief, we are never alone.

I cling to the promise in His word that it will not always be this way.

One day there will be no more suffering or pain.

One day there will be no more goodbyes.

One day God Himself will be engaged with His community by walking among His people once again.

“ Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had passed away. There was no more sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem. It was coming down out of heaven from God. It was made ready like a bride is made ready for her husband.  I heard a loud voice coming from heaven. It said, “See! God’s home is with men. He will live with them. They will be His people. God Himself will be with them. He will be their God. God will take away all their tears. There will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All the old things have passed away.”  Then the One sitting on the throne said, “See! I am making all things new. Write, for these words are true and faithful.” Then He said to me, “These things have happened! I am the First and the Last. I am the beginning and the end. To anyone who is thirsty, I will give the water of life. It is a free gift.” Revelation 21: 1-7 NLV

One day.

Friends, may we cling to the promise of this day like an anchor in a storm when the heaviness of grief is too great to bear.

Amen.