Dear World,
It’s been an
interesting week for you, hasn’t it? You’ve seen a lot in just the span of a
few days, and I know you consider it to be pretty monumental. I get it. I’m
sure if I didn’t believe the way I did, I’d think it was pretty monumental,
too. But the thing is, I do believe differently than you, so I’m not
celebrating. Instead, I’m fighting back the tears and frustration because you
seem to be blaming Someone very dear to me for holding you back and keeping you
in slavery and oppression for hundreds of years. It seems like you want me to
keep my mouth shut about my beliefs so that you can enter into this age of new
enlightenment and dance all over the ways of the past. But, dear World, that’s
so dangerous. I know you think you’re doing what’s right and generating
freedom, and I admire you for wanting justice, but I need to share a few thoughts
on the matter. It may not be what you want to hear, but hopefully you’ll discern
a heart of love behind it—not mine…His.
You see, I’m
a follower of Jesus Christ. I think you’re familiar with His name, but I’m
quite sure you have no idea who He is. I can’t blame you. There is a lot of
false information out there, as well as a great number of people who claim to
be like Him who act entirely opposite. The only reason I know Him is because I was
blessed to be raised by some people who knew Him well and showed me that He was
(and is) the epitome of love at its highest and most powerful. I definitely don’t
do Him justice as His follower a lot of the time when I try to model Him, but I
do know a good deal about His real character—that He’s so good and loving and
powerful. I don’t think you know that; and if you do, I think you’re only
seeing part of the picture—the parts you want
to see so that you can make Him into what you want Him to be.
Again, I get
it. People like me have done a terrible job of showing His character to you. We’ve
said hurtful things and done a lot of damage to His name by saying one thing
and doing another. But that’s why it’s important that I share this message with
you, because Jesus isn’t defined by the actions of His followers. It is us who are
defined by His forgiveness and grace when we fall short.
This Jesus
that you keep railing against is not the enemy here. There’s something so much
more sinister and evil at work that I really wish you’d understand. It’s not
Jesus who has condemned you or made you feel less than loved. It’s not Jesus
who has oppressed you. It’s the enemy of our souls who has done this to us all
by blinding us to the Truth about Christ and His love, grace and salvation. Jesus
wants to free you. He is entirely FOR you, and He promises so many wonderful
things if you would just let Him in. He promises grace, mercy and forgiveness.
He promises comfort, peace and rest. He promises strength, wisdom and faithfulness.
Why are you so vehemently opposed to that? Don’t you want life to be fulfilling
and joyful, or do you really want pain, confusion and anger to fuel you
forever?
Oh my stars,
I’ve been there. I know what it’s like to walk in darkness and be locking arms
with things Jesus didn’t desire for me. I’ve been isolated, depressed, sick,
angry, confused, terrified, panicked and defeated. I’ve gone my own way, and it
was miserable. But Jesus came for me. I let Him in, and He restored me through
a slow, beautiful, challenging, beneficial healing process. I still have much to
learn in Him, and I still struggle, but He is the only way. I know this now
more than ever. He IS life! And I don’t understand why you hate that—why you
hate Him for saying that He knows the way to all things good. Why would you be
so angrily opposed to that? To Him? Don’t you know how much He loves you?
I know you
struggle with His rules. And yes there are some, but they’re all designed to protect
you and bless you, dear World. Like I said, He is FOR you. Just like a good
parent protects his or her children from touching a hot stove or running with
scissors, He wants you to follow Him so that you won’t have to suffer so much
pain unnecessarily. And I KNOW you have pain in your life. Don’t tell me that
you don’t. It’s the kind of pain that no substance, luxury, person or law can
even begin to heal. It’s the kind that eats at your innermost being and won’t
ever, ever relent. Pain from the past. Pain from the present. Pain from what
you think is your future. That kind of pain won’t go away without the healing
of the soul from a Savior. I know.
There’s a
parable in the Bible that Jesus tells about a son of a wealthy man who really
messes things up for himself. He asks his father for his inheritance early and
then goes off and blows it all on everything and nothing. He eventually runs
out of money and is so poor and destitute that he is desperate for even a bite
of the slop being fed to the pigs around him. Now, he knows he messed up
by
squandering his inheritance, and he’s ashamed of himself, so he plans to go
back to his father and ask to be brought on as a hired hand so that he can at
least earn a living. But to his surprise, when he heads back home, his dad is
just so glad that he’s come back that he simply runs out to meet him, rejoices that
he’s back and throws him a big welcome home party. The father doesn’t give the
irresponsible son what he truly deserved; he just welcomed him home and brought
him in.
Man, that’s
Jesus. That’s our Father. He doesn’t hold our stuff against us; He LOVES us. But
He won’t force His love on us. He’s not into forcing His children to do
anything. He’s given us the choice to either love Him back or not, and He will
respect our wish. If you/we push Him out of our society and out of our lives, He
will let us. But He knows what it will cost us: every ounce of peace, joy and
true freedom we don’t even know we want. And, what’s worse, we’ll inherit eternity
apart from Him and His unrelenting love.
So, that’s
my letter to you. I may write more in the future because I don’t want to give
up on you. You are filled with such promise and talent and wonderfulness, and I
am breaking down in tears when I think about how desperate you are to throw away
the one relationship that could give you more than this crazy, rebellious society
ever will. Jesus died for you, World. He isn’t your enemy. He’s your advocate. And
He loves you so much that nothing could ever stop Him from wanting what’s best
for you: His beautiful creation.
Sincerely,
Jill
