Lavender & Lace

We do not grieve as those who have no hope. (1 Thessalonians 4:13)

But I have been grieving a lot these past couple days, I don’t know about you.

With everything going on in the news I have felt very depressed and very overwhelmed as I watch the country I once knew and loved, fall into chaos and destruction.

I don’t recognize the U.S. anymore.

It feels like just yesterday that the twin towers fell. I remember the horror, the sadness, and the confusion.

But in the days and weeks that followed something amazing happened…people came together like never before. People from all walks of life, different backgrounds, beliefs and political affiliations, stood arm-n-arm while we raised the American flag with pride.

We stood as one. Stronger than ever.

But as I look around today I no longer feel a sense of pride when I see the American flag. I watched as it was used as a weapon to break down people and windows to storm the capitol on Jan 6th. And how it’s now plastered on tshirts, cars, and memorabilia to insight hate and division.

I sit alone and lament for what my country has become.

But not as someone who has no hope.

I am reminded of the early church followers in the aftermath of Christ’s crucifixion. The fear and the grief that spurred constant debates about leaving and running away. Many of the followers feared for their own safety and that of their families…but still they stayed. Because Jesus had promised to send The Spirit.

And when the day of Pentecost came, a man name Stephen was added to their ranks.

His strong conviction is what led him to confront the Jewish elite, despite the warnings of what might happen. Still he persisted. Still he stood up for what he believed was right; he persevered and preached the gospel boldly.

Until the day he was drug away by a mob and stoned to death.

It was the first death of a follower of Christ.

And I can only imagine what it must have felt like in the tiny little community as they lifted his beaten body and prepared to bury their friend.

I’m sure things felt very much like they feel now.

But still there is hope?

Why?

Because we worship a savior who has suffered but who overcame. Who was killed but rose again. Jesus is not dead. He’s alive.

And he tells us that one day, there will be a reckoning.

³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

⁴⁴ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

⁴⁵ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

Matthew 25:32-45

During the weeks that followed the assassination of Charlie Kirk I watched some very unusual things happen within circles of people who called themselves Christian and I was reminded of this scripture.

There will be a division of sheep and goats.

And the sheep and goats will not be “believers and unbelievers” as some people like to believe. This judgement is reserved for believers alone.

We will all have to give an accounting for our lives. We will all have to answer for what we have done and for what we haven’t done.

All the people who claim the name of Christ will be judged.

And that is our hope.

Our hope is that one day, it won’t be this way anymore.

That when Christ comes back, as he said that he will, He will reunite heaven and earth and establish his kingdom with those who follow him.

Those who know his voice. (John 10:27)

Not just those who wear a cross around their necks and go to church on Sundays “sometimes” just to get their spiritual check mark.

And see, this is where my beliefs now differ from that of how I was raised. I was raised to believe that there was no such thing as “works” and that it didn’t matter what you did with you life, as long as you showed up to church, bent your head and said you were sorry, you were free to walk out the door and live your life however you wanted.

But as I read the scriptures I began to realize that this is not at all what Jesus actually teaches.

No, there’s no way you can earn your own salvation. Absolutely. It doesn’t matter how much you tithe or how many Hail Marys you pray, salvation is a free gift from God for whoever believes (Ephesians 2:8-9). But once you receive that salvation, rise from death to life, it absolutely matters what you do with your life.

The scriptures teach that you are now an ambassador of Christ. You are His hands and feet in the world. Yes, you are called into a body and are part of a large family, but each person is called to serve the kingdom in some way. We’ve all got a job to do, whether you want to admit it or not. And at the end of days we will be asked to give an account of that “work”.

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”

Matthew 25:21

It’s also really interesting to sit and listen to people talk about what they think heaven will be like. Some people think we will lie around on clouds or sing worship songs with harps forever…which is really comical if you consider that the picture The Bible paints of heaven is a new Eden.

1 Corinthians 6 says that in heaven we will judge angles!

So consider the implications of this life if that is going to be your future job description.

I don’t know about you, but I, personally, do not have enough life experience or educational background to sit in the place of a judge in court and make decisions about anyone’s life…so is it so far fetched to believe that our lives right now are preparing us for what is coming down the line?

Today in the aftermath of the murder of Renee Good, I feel very depressed. I’ve watched countless videos, read all the comments online, and have seen the posts from friends and family and the one thing I keep coming back to is…regardless of what you choose to believe about this woman being innocent or not…she at least had a conviction to stand up and do what she felt was right. And it cost her her life.

She, maybe in a small comparison to Stephen, knew there might be risks, but felt in her heart that she needed to do something-and did it.

She could have easily been me.

Taking a stand to defend the oppressed. To engage in a battle between right and wrong, good and evil. And finding the courage to show up, when just as many of us would have stayed home.

Just stayed out of it.

Made it someone else problem.

She did something.

And personally, that inspires me.

Because even as Stephen faced down the Jewish religious leaders, in front of his community; people who spit on him and called him a criminal, who wanted to press charges against him, and called him a liar…he still showed up. He still risked his life for something he believed in.

And maybe if more of us did this, there would be more hope for everyone.

Just a thought.

And again, the goal in my writings is never to convince you of anything. You are free to disagree. The goal is to spur some curiosity so that you go and do your own research and reach your own conclusions. I think there’s a huge problem in our church world today where people walk around believing something just because some talking head told them to. You have the Holy Spirit dwelling within you. He is there for a reason. To teach you and reform you and grow you in wisdom and truth.

Ask Him and He will lead you to the truth.

Don’t just take my word for it.