distractions

Sitting down to write today is hard, not because I don't have something to write, but because I have too many things to write. My heart has been on a roller coaster ride the last few weeks. I find myself discouraged by the chaotic world and the fear we all seem to breathe in like oxygen about crumbling markets and presidential hopefuls. But simultaneously, I am wrestling with what it means to be a child of God, a citizen of his kingdom, and oftentimes my spirits are bouyed. My idealism has taken hits over time, but God has faithfullly repaired the hits in the part of me I treasure most.

In the end, I know that being a part of what God is doing in the world is an ideal that I want, more than anything, to spend my life for. Not because I enjoy being on the right side of things, or take pleasure in trusting that it is the "winning" side. But rather, because I fully believe that God's kingdom is about restoring what seems so chaotic right now. It is about delving into the mess and restoring its beauty. It is about pushing back what is wrong and shining a light on what is good. God is working to bind up the broken, to befriend the lonely, to kneel down next to the broken down stepped ons of society and help them back up. When I read of Jesus and try my best to listen and understand him, I don't see someone bent on flashy argumentation or legislative evangelism, but someone who so embodied the compassion of his father that it seeped out of everything he did. When he said he came to declare the year of the Lord's favor, he announces that the kingdom is here and is for good things; hope, love, justice, redemption...that list goes on.

I have been speaking lately about having eyes to see God and to see his work happening before us, but how difficult it is to make that a priority. As I was reading this morning, I was struck by something I had not thought of before. I was struck that my participation in the kingdom is not just a matter of obedience, but it is the way I encounter what is good, true and beautiful. As I labor, I experience the goodness of God. So I need not fear the chaos...God give me eyes to see you clearly amidst my muddied life.