Redemptiphobia

As I’ve been pulling together my thoughts on ‘Some Crazy, Mad Hope’, the spirit has opened the doors to pondering all things anew…for hope is much more than simply the reality of God in man and man in God; with it comes the process and pull of reconciliation.  Something has to be the rescuing force in order for hope to take hold and sprout itself within….we call that kind of cataclysmic rescue, ‘redemption’.

And so rather than pounding out another lengthy collection of thoughts, meditations and spiritual groanings; I’ll try to make this one a bit more brief.

Redemptiphobia

In the mission of redemption, in the manifesto of incarnational rescue lies a single truth that stands on its own and will either speak fear or breathe life into the hearts of its people…and that is that things cannot and will not ever go back to the way they were…

For this is redemption…not simply a 180, but an entirely new reality that is fueled by life in the spirit of Moshiach.  Not only do we see with new eyes and breathe with new lungs, but we recognize the gravity of redemption…things will never be the same…things will never go back to the way they were.

I grow weary in typing out the reality that as of today, I am still struggling with quitting smoking.  As I often approach the stages of week 2 and month 1; I reflect on what life, anxiety and even time spent outside used to look like.  I often think, “Won’t it be amazing to eventually go back to the way things were before picking up smoking?”

Yet the more I read and ponder the heart of God and movement of his spirit in redemption, the more I realize that these thoughts and longings are not as close to reality as I give them credit…in the context of my addiction and deliverance from a life fueled and calmed by nicotine; things will never go back to the way they were.

And in that reality, the spirit whispers into my heart the choice to come, follow and present myself as a living sacrifice no longer bound to my own perception or presupposition of what is normal.

For the heart of God desires something far greater in the souls of his children…he is making a new way, a new life, a new end result…and it is nothing like before.

Take the typical alcoholic…it’s inherent in the 12 step program that life will never be the same…in the midst of broken humanity we realize that the hand dealt to us isn’t exactly what we thought it would be…and there’s no way you’ll get any of those cards back; instead as Christ bids us to come and die, he forges a new path, completely and utterly unlike anything we’ve seen or experienced before.

Regardless of the illustration, the truth remains the same…that redemption is about something new…something foreign…but ultimately something far better.

May you ponder anew the tangible reality of redemption, may the fear and resistance of the peace of God be settled in your hearts and in your minds.  May we seek in boldness the heart of God and the way of hope and reconciliation.

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