the broken home of love and hope

Because we’re all broken, right? And those of us who don’t look it are just really good at the hiding of it. We’re all fallen. Imperfect. Failures at something. We’ve all gone astray. Not one of us is righteous. And at some point we notice that we can try but we cannot. 

That’s gospel truth.

So we pull away from each other because broken things snag and rip open other things. We pull away from God because what sort of deity could be pleased with something incapable of getting it right? And must we really hobble through life with all our ugly showing. And what could possibly soften and cover these jagged edges.

 That’s when we remember God’s love.  

Because God does not switch on the light of His love when we look good and perform well, and cut it off when we don’t. And maybe we need to read that sentence again.

Nothing separates us from the love that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Our position of loving acceptance in the beloved is not based on ourselves. We may grieve Him and break our fellowship with Him, but we cannot break His love for us. Nothing plucks us from that. No force of evil. No catastrophic event. Death cannot do it. Life falls short of it. The future, and swords, and angels may try. And we may feel as if we’ve surely severed it this time. But the steadfast loving kindness of God endures forever. 

That’s gospel truth.

And we must remember our hope.

The Word became flesh, leaving the perfection of Heaven to set up His tent in this broken world. And He would still tabernacle in your broken. He would dwell in you richly. All His glorious perfect would abide in you and spring forth with much fruit. Hope for patience. Hope for comfort. Hope for strength. Hope in death. Hope in sin. Hope to get it right.

You see, our cracks and hollows are needed because if we’re all closed up glossy perfect, how can our hope be seen? It is not our perfections that will woo this world and our weary to faith in Him. It is seeing through our broken humanity and asking the reason for the hope who has so beautifully set up His home in us. Christ in us, the hope of glory. 

That’s gospel truth.

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So when those life moments come. 

When the blinders fall away and we see how crippled we really are. 

We remember what is in this broken and we rejoice.

Love and Hope dwell here.

Beth