Perhaps it may turn out a sang,
Perhaps turn out a sermon.

-- R. Burns Epistle to a Young Friend

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

The Whole



Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other.  Faithfulness springs up from the ground, and righteousness looks down from the sky.  -- Psalms 85:10-11


 There is always a wholeness to what God does.  It is something we crave.  I have had the experience of being fragmented, of my life having parts that make no sense and do not fit in with the rest of me.  We sometimes have relationships that seem at odds with who we are and where we are going or want to go.  Brokenness can be painful.  We may try on our own to put ourselves back together.  We find something to use for glue, maybe get some directions from another shattered person and attempt to figure out where everything ought to go.  We sometimes end up more than a little dysfunctional as a result. 

 The Lord offers us the wholeness we seek in Christ.  Our brokenness can become a blessing as God takes these useless, hurtful fragments and integrates them through the Cross.  The water and the blood make us pliable again and allow Him to reshape our lives with a new and eternal purpose. 

We become new creations in Christ.  Now we are made right, that is, we are righteous.  Righteousness brings peace.  Peace helps us to maintain our integrity.  We know we are missing something or in danger of again being shattered when we lose that peace. 

The psalmist says that faithfulness springs up from the ground.  God is always faithful on His side, but we can be true as well.  The imagery of a crop coming up from the dust of the earth reflects that faithfulness arising from within us.  It grows from the seed of love the Lord has planted in our hearts. 

Like any plant, our faithfulness will orient toward the light.  Righteousness shines down upon us, and we align ourselves with it.

This is how God means for us to live in relationship with Him.  It is a glimpse of the Kingdom Way, calling us to trust and rest and devotion. 

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