Church Blog
The Resurrecting One
For those of you who are reading through our Spring Resource, I am sure this week’s topic on the book was an encouragement to you—I know it was for me.
This year, I am turning forty, and I am already feeling it (I can sense the eyes-rolling already as you think, “Wait until you hit my age”). At some point in your life, you get past that age where you feel immortal. And you begin to feel the weight of the fall in your body.
But even beyond this inescapable life experience, what we also feel is loss of loved ones. We see the pain and struggle of others. And internally, we feel what the apostle Paul described—and the author of this book pointed out—as a groaning inside of us. A groaning over the pain and struggle we feel and a groaning for something better.
Jesus: The Judge
There was a good portion of my life that I spent with one foot in the church and one foot in the world. I compulsively fit in wherever I found myself, regardless of whether I should or even wanted to fit in. I had some measure of belief in Jesus, but what I really believed in was the opinions of others. I embraced a superficial level of worship in the church that would be enough for anyone around to think, “Wow, he’s a good kid.” In other contexts, I embraced a level of recklessness and experimentation with all sorts of sinful and destructive behaviors that let my peers know that I was “cool.”
Anyone who has lived like that for any amount of time knows the fear you feel of ever being found out. Would anyone in my church find out that I really wasn’t “good” and how devastating would their judgment feel? Or would people outside the church find out that I actually regret my actions and that I’m not “cool”? Not to mention I wasn’t even sure what version of me was the real me. I’m so thankful that God guided me through a process of healing all the fractured parts of my life.