Notes to My Siblings

I'm a go-er and a do-er. I want to fix things. I want to solve problems. I want to get in the thick of it, come out bruised and bleeding, brush off and go back and do it again. But I've been benched from all the things I'd love to be doing. For now at least. For a long time, I moped on the sidelines (I occasionally still do). But the bench is not a waste. For instance, you know all those flowery Bible passages that we use to pretend to comfort ourselves and others when life sucks? Sometimes, in the dark places, they sound rote. Fake. Made up. (And sometimes grossly pulled out of context, but that's another topic) " 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 2 Corinthians 12:9 " For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to ...

As ISIS makes the headlines and splashes their gruesome images across our media platforms for all the world to see, it's nearly impossible for me to think of THEM... ...as people . I see a human form, garbed in black, doing evil, evil things. But I don't see then as a human. I see a monster. And yet. They are people.  They are people. People who desire to know something bigger than themselves. Don't we all? But. They have chosen the wrong big thing. When people are so sold out to the Evil One, in my mind, I write them off from receiving the grace of God. But that's the thing. No one is too far to be brought to the Lord. No. One. In Matthew 5-7, Jesus re-introduces the heart of the Law of God. Anyone who hates his brother is guilty of murder.   It's about the heart. Just because I've never physically killed anyone doesn't mean I've never murdered according to God's standard. No one is too far to be made new. These men (and occasiona...