Think of the meanest person you have ever met. Imagine right now how they look. Look past the smirk on their face to the ugliness of their soul. How do you feel about them? What emotions emerge as you focus on this person? What do you wish would happen to them?
The scandal of the message of Jesus is that God loves that person at their worst. He doesn't just tolerate this person, He's actively pursuing them. The love of God, that Jesus revealed, is a love that chases ugly.
Think right now of the worst thing you have ever done. Were you surprised you were capable of that? How easy is it to sleep with that memory? Do you keep it a secret? What if other people knew how ugly you could be?
The scandal of the message of Jesus is that God loves you at your worst. He doesn't just tolerate you, He's actively pursuing you. The love of God, that Jesus revealed, is a love that chases ugly.
In your darkest moment have you felt that persistent tug on your heart? That is the One who chases ugly. That is One this blog is about. I'm inviting you to journey with me as we together we ask questions and look for answers. I'm inviting you to journey with me as together we learn to surrender to the love of the One who is always found Chasing Ugly.
To accept this invitation, please post questions, doubts, and frustrations you have with knowing God. Where we go is up to you, as future posts will be based on your questions and comments.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Chasing Ugly?
Posted by Matt at 10:17 AM
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Okay, I'll start the conversation by answering these two questions:
What emotions emerge as you focus on this person?
Here is a list of words that come to mind when I think of this person:: anger, argumentative, egomaniac, fighting, conflict, hatred, revenge, snob, primadonna,
What do you wish would happen to them?
Disappointment, lose their job, realize their mistakes, realize that I was right, get knocked off their high horse.
I think, for me, one of the greatest issues causing me doubt/frustration is what seems like unequal-opportunity love from God. I teach at an inner city school, and my students have faced things that would incapacitate most people I know. Their bravery is inspirational, but I still find it hard to not shout "UNFAIR!" on a daily basis.
My biggest struggle with getting to know God is getting over the people who hurt me in God's name. It took me a long time to realize that those people were just doing what they thought was right, in persecuting me and turning me away.
But I have learned that God doesn't want that. He loves people who wear shorts, people who cut their hair, and people who hold hands before marriage. These are his children. He is willing to meet us half way, or three quarters if we need it. That is his grace.
I'm not sure how to use the little box thing, so here's my next q. There's this girl on facebook who I talk to occasionally. Anyways, something bad in her life happened, tragic really, and as a response she wrote "hates god" as her status. I understand that she is in pain, and angry, but how do I convey God's love to her? I already told her it was okay to be mad at God, and that her grieving was normal. I also told her that what happened wasn't God's plan. But what now?
In the past few years a lot has happened. I went from not really knowing if I believed in God to hating God (if he was real) because of something bad happening, to wanting to believe in him. There are days that I want to believe in God and be close to him more than anything in the world, but I can't believe in him. Just like if someone you love tells you something that you don't believe. You want to believe them but you just can't get yourself to. How can I believe in something that I can't believe is there?
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