To let the world see the difference.
He calls us to repentance.
To stand on the promise that we are chosen by God, holy and dearly loved.
He calls us to love and walk as a new creation in Christ.
To experience the Hands of the Healer.
He says “Follow Me.” Immediately.
To show us that he doesn’t run away from our needs, even needs wrongly met, because they reveal something about us that He wants to transform, to redeem, to deepen our roots through relationship with Him.
He looks at the Samaritan woman with love and maybe we should say: “Look at what potential she has for God. See how hard she’s trying to find the right thing in all the wrong places.”
To ask us if we looking at messy, real lives and saying “that’s wrong” or if we are penetrating the walls and masks to seek why they are in such trouble in order to love them where they are?
He reminds us that our message is not that we have it all together. Our message is that we know the one who does!
To let us rest in shalom שָׁלוֹם: nothing missing. nothing broken. life as it was meant to be.
b'ahava 
amen.
Here via Tam’s place….
this is really really good. I’m glad I read it. In an odd twist of things, this goes along with our message for our MOPS group this year. Thinking of printing it and sharing it in our newsletter…do you mind? 😉
Aw, you’re too kind! I’m glad you liked it! And yes, feel free to share it in your newsletter! What’s your message about this year?
Loving every mom where they are, so that no mom has to mother alone. That was the entire running theme at our Convention last month, and then when I read that here I thought “WOW!” 😉 THANK YOU!
and this “He reminds us that our message is not that we have it all together. Our message is that we know the one who does!” exactly is what we are trying to convey to moms this year, because moms (all people really, but moms especially) have such a tendency to want to have it all together and be PERFECT. It’s amazing how your post echoes so much of what we are trying to convey this year.
“To ask us if we looking at messy, real lives and saying “that’s wrong” or if we are penetrating the walls and masks to seek why they are in such trouble in order to love them where they are?”
yes, yes and YES!
this is so beautifully written.
thank you both for your words and encouragement! Some of the lines are inspired/tweeked from the book Out of the Salt Shaker–excellent book with some very thought provoking ideas about evangelism. As well as the last line from Alece. 🙂