Church Hurt

These days, with social media and technology, it’s easy to confuse number of connections with depth of relationship. We settle for social gatherings full of small talk, consistent interactions on Facebook, and quick work conversations to fill us up. But settling for these kinds of relationships over deep relationships is like eating a bag of chips when you’re hungry for a meal. The chips may curb your hunger for the moment, but you will be hungry again.  Yet, we settle for these kinds of superficial relationships over and over again and wonder why we feel so lonely. Anxiety and depression are at an all time high in teens and young adults. We have to wonder if the width of connection may be replacing depth of connection and how that replacement is affecting our mental and spiritual health. We were made for the kind of connection that the Trinity models for us. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are in perfect unity. They are committed to one another and in perfect community with one another. If we were made in the image of the Trinity, we were made to reflect this kind of beautiful community with one another. This doesn’t mean that we have to invest in every single person in our lives. Even Jesus didn’t invest in more than twelve people. He had relationships with more than twelve, but he gave himself to the twelve and heavily invested in three within that twelve. Jesus modeled for us the impact of unyielding commitment to a few friends. Jesus revealed parts of himself to these three that he didn’t to the rest, like in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-37) and on a mountaintop during his transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-2). If we want committed relationships in our lives, it starts with looking to Jesus and following his example with others in our lives. Reflection/Discussion Question: How does thinking about the community within the Trinity help you think differently about your own community?

For many of us, we have to hit rock bottom in order to be open to hearing from God. Jacob ends up wrestling with God when he is alone and surrounded by hard. He had been keeping himself so busy that he never stopped to listen to God. Can you relate? Many of us pack our lives full of soccer games, school events, work, social gatherings, side-hustles, Bible study groups, and housework that we never have a quiet moment to be with God. Maybe Jacob wrestled with God because it was the only way he was going to stop and evaluate his own life. We are too busy with our routines that we never stop to evaluate what we believe, where we are with God, and where we are going. We set out to run away, with no thought about where we might end up. But God gives us purpose and direction. When life is hard, we can run toward God. He doesn’t promise to take our suffering away right now, but he does promise to take all suffering away in the end. First Peter 1:3-7 says this: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. You are being guarded by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. You rejoice in this, even though now for a short time, if necessary, you suffer grief in various trials so that the proven character of your faith—more valuable than gold, which, though perishable, is refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (CSB). We can run towards what is hard because we have a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus. We can run toward hard because we have an inheritance kept in Heaven for us that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. We can run toward hard because we are being guarded by God’s power. And we can run toward hard because this hard is refining our faith so that our lives can result in praise, glory, and honor to Jesus. Reflection/Discussion Question: How can you start to implement more moments of quiet in your day in order to run toward God?

There are messes that I’ve been born into, messes that I’ve stepped into, and messes that I’ve created. What has been consistent is the way Jesus uses each one to reveal the truth that He gives beauty for ashes. I plan to share this challenge with the women in my Bible study tonight as we celebrate Valentines together. We will take time celebrate how He loves even the messiest bride. Pray that we acknowledge that, our hearts are filled to overflow because of that, and that we serve others in a way that they feel it too.