Freed
The unthinkable happens. An
overstressed businessman receives the call: his mother has died
unexpectedly. Ready to unwind, a
teenager enters her house only to find a tearful mom saying that the girl’s
father has just walked out. A dad
drives from work to his son’s baseball game and discovers there was a car
accident, and he will be going home alone. A terrorist attack victim watches his two friends fall and
knows they will never get back up.
Tragedy. Loss. Despair. In a moment we can be broken and stripped of everything we value. The things we once deemed so important
– our reputation, our popularity, our priorities – and the thought-pattern we
once functioned under – our preconceived ideas about people, places, and things,
our judgments, our subconscious distractions – are empty. Broken of our confidence and comfort, stripped
of our outlook, and removed from the world’s ideology, we are provided with a
new foundation, shown a new light, and presented with a new task.
We
stand on FAITH. This faith that
God is good and works things for the good of those who love Him, that He is
Sovereign, that He is the Redeemer, is the rock upon which we stand. It can never be shaken. Only as we, broken over our sin and depending on God alone, stand on this rock do
we see clearly. We clearly see
truth – that life is a blink and pleasing God is what counts. We clearly see the urgency to obey, to
know God, and to make Him known. We stand on this rock of faith, or we will not stand at all.
We
hold our lantern of HOPE. Standing
on our faith removed from the world’s entanglements, we know that darkness does
not have to consume, for we have the light, our Savior. He overcame darkness, and through Him we,
too, can overcome. Here in our
hands we hold the promise of eternity and the assurance of daily strength. Only by this light’s glow that removes
darkness can we see the reality of beauty in the broken. With our lantern of hope beaming, we
cherish life out of thankfulness.
We
apply the balm of LOVE. With our
petty distractedness and selfish ambition stripped away, we value people
unreservedly. Removed from our
heart’s throne, we humbly fuse each God-valued person with His unconditional,
healing love. Through the hands
that caringly feed, through the ears that sincerely listen, through the words
that warmly encourage, through the feet that sacrificially go, through the eyes
that deeply cherish all, people witness love, and we uncover joy. The image of
Jesus and the fragrance of faith and hope linger in our wake. This is our humble love.
Only
by being stripped and broken can we clearly distinguish value. In this awed, humble state we marvel at
our Master’s great plan and great grace for us, sinners. Standing, shining, and healing, we live
God’s heart. Stripped, broken, and
humbled, we are freed to live.
1 Corinthians 13:13a
But now these three remain: faith, hope, and love.
© 2013 Deborah Hope Shining
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I definitely don't want this to be a monologue. What are your thoughts? Questions? Ideas?