On the afternoon of Christmas Eve, I slipped into the restroom at the Dallas Fort Worth airport between flights. After washing my hands, I noted the custodian standing nearby, so as is my custom, I slowed down to make eye contact, smile, and thank her for her labors. However, when my eyes connected with hers, I became startled by the depth of sadness and grief she could not conceal. It was so unnerving, I had to catch my breath, quickly slipping past her after a cursory greeting.

Scenarios flooded my mind— who has she lost? What does this year represent for her? Is she alone this Christmas? Does she have a disabled child? Is she a caregiver? What are her fears? I found myself wishing I had an extra hundred dollar bill tucked away I could slip into her hand, but I did not. And her pain seemed untouchable, almost cheapened by suggesting mere cash could allay it. But I was grasping, wishing I had a way to help. I kept walking, haunted by the glimpse into her soul. I do not always know what to do, say or even pray.

​This is a hard year for many. Too hard.

As I post my holiday greetings and pictures of family, I am acutely aware many are struggling, some feeling utterly alone.

​Many are aware God appeared on earth clothed in flesh, his coming providing mankind a model to live by. Others may realize Jesus came as a man without sin in order to pay the price for the wrong each of us have done, qualified to do so by His own perfection. He makes forgiveness possible. A just God requires accountability; a loving God bore the price for it Himself on a cross.

But few recognize the purpose of Jesus’ miraculous appearance was to restore us to God relationally, so we could live in union with our Creator, a good, good, God.

Union. Bliss. Intimacy.

These are not words we typically hear applied to the Christian faith, and yet, this is the purpose and goal of Christ’s work upon the Earth: to destroy the works of the evil one (who labors to isolate man from God), to speak the Truth of reconciliation and connection with God, and to restore mankind to His side as companions. He calls us friend!

This is the Good News.

No matter what circumstances we face, He will never leave us or forsake us. He is so committed to us, His people are inscribed on the palms of His hands.

I thought you might need some good news as we end out 2020 and enter a new year, not alone after all.

Happy New Year!

Other mornings I awaken unaware, grab my phone and paralyze my mind scrolling through social media, emails, and text messages that came in during the night. The noise wipes clean my perceptions of the Divine, my sensitivity to His subtle whispers. 

Coffee. Coffee, please. 

One morning I can feel so connected, and the next, as though my day has started and this faith walk gets compartmentalized, relegating my interaction with Jesus to the confines of an appointment later in the day. 

Awareness of patterns is half the battle. Take inventory! 

The truth is, it is only in Christ "we live, and move and have our being". (Acts 17:28 NIV) Apart from Him, we can do nothing. Only connection with Jesus can produce the kind of fruit we want from our day or really even from our lives. (John 15:4-5) My life is not my own; it is not up to me to direct my own steps. (Jeremiah 10:23) And when I try, through omission, I lose ground. 

Now more than ever, with each day bringing new chaos, we must commune, connect, pursue, and draw near to our God. Our lives are designed to be an experience of immersion in Him, every moment of every day. As you draw near to Him, He promises to draw near to you! (James 4:8) 

Do not wait. Can you feel the urgency of the hour?

I am in the middle of a bathroom remodel project, the kind of vast under-taking that guts a room and slowly rebuilds it into a place of beauty. I contracted out most of the work, like the shower demolition, re-tiling, and custom wood butcher-block counters. But I have professional-level painting skills. 

For days I have sanded cabinets, primed, and painted. Yesterday I finally finished prepping the walls and ceiling and began the arduous task of painting the room. By the time I am ready to clean my equipment and brushes, typically in the middle of the night, I am utterly exhausted. You know how projects go. 

If a quality paintbrush is not cleaned properly, it dries stiff and hard and becomes useless. It takes time to clean it properly. A thorough cleaning requires copious amounts of running water— a stagnant bucket of water will not do. A painter then uses a dual-sided tool; a metal, sharp-pronged comb on one side, paired with a metal brush similar to a barbecue grill brush on the other side. 

I use the metal brush to repetitively scratch the exterior of the paintbrush’s ferrule stroking down the bristles under a running sink facet until the brush looks clean. But a mere squeeze reveals my brush is still full of paint! The efficient way to rid the brush of the paint is to use the sharp prongs of the metal comb to pierce the brush starting at the heel, splaying the bristles, and raking repetitively through the belly and toe of the brush, all the while under the gushing spigot. This method exposes the interior bristles to the cleansing flow until the brush is squeezed and the emerging water runs clear. Last night while rinsing my brushes, I accidentally pierced my finger with the sharp prongs of the cleaning comb, commingling my blood with the freshly flowing water and fading paint. 

​Can you see where I am going with this description? We can be raked and pierced by life’s assaults all day long and not benefit in the slightest. But God has a divine purpose behind the hardships we face in this life. With the spigot running continuously, He restores us during the transformation process if we position ourselves in Him. 

I want the fruit of my remodeled lavatory, but I do not look forward to the chaos of dismantling existing structures or to cleaning my brushes. I cannot have a new room without enduring the chaos and the cleaning. Our lives are the same way. I want my life and character to be transformed by God, becoming beautiful. But the project is one of demolition and yielding to a thorough cleaning for me to emerge as hoped. 

My life and yours too require copious amounts of free-flowing Water, running constantly, to cleanse the compacted strands of our life stories  — both the washing of the water of the Word and abiding in the Spirit immersed in the River of Life. A bucket of water captured in a quick morning devotion will just not suffice. The flow of His presence must be constant. The more Water, the better! 

And it takes a good piercing under that flow to expose what is hidden. Prayers to abort the process do not yield a life usable in the hands of the Master Painter. Instead, apply more Water and benefit fully from the raking, embracing God's divine purpose and provision. Visualize the brush with each squeeze of the bristles in your Master's hand! 

Drawing blood last night created in my mind’s eye what really has to happen. It is the piercing of Jesus Christ, His blood, His cleansing flow applied to my life that leaves me restored, supple for use. And the bathroom? It is still a work in progress, but it is coming along beautifully!

Just don’t.

Minds are changed by modeling a better way, through the expression of love and acceptance. Vitriol and call-out-spotlights alienate and trigger pride, an invitation for oppositional heels to dig in, a breeding ground for hatred and resentment.

We all have opinions. Strong opinions. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is laden with delectable fruit, branches weighted low enough for even the simpleton to reach to pluck “right” and “wrong” from its boughs. Dead-right ingested does nothing to strengthen bones.

But the Kingdom of God offers a better diet, nourishment from the Tree of Life. In Christ is Life, Love, Humility.

Solutions.

Christ came that we might have Life— life abundant. He supplies fullness of joy at His right hand, in life-union with Him... and access to the Wisdom of our Father, the mind of Christ and the counsel as well as the comfort of the Holy Spirit.

Reach higher for the peaceable fruit of righteousness.