Who Do We Expect God To Be? - Redux

"When they heard these words, some in the crowd said, ‘This is really the prophet.’ Others said, ‘This is the Messiah.’ But some asked, ‘Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he?'" - John 7:40-41

Dear Friends in Christ -

What a great Scripture lesson to follow on the heels of Kate's sermon!

The questions raised here are such important ones: Who is this Messiah? How is he - and how is he NOT - who we expect him to be?

Some of the people I know who are most distant from God are distant because they are angry with God. Underlying their anger is a tremendous well of disappointment that God hasn't made good on his promises.

I struggle to talk with them about their disappointment because I'm so aware of their pain. Some of them have children who have died. Some of them struggle mightily with addiction or depression or another overwhelming problem over which makes just getting through the day a HUGE struggle.

God promises to be with us always, but he never promised to fix our problems. God promises to bring us Life, but he doesn't promise that someone we love won't get killed in an accident. And yes, that's confusing. And yes, that doesn't feel like enough.

Relationship with God requires us to move forward even when we can't see our Guide, to receive this day as a gift even though we will almost surely encounter loss and pain in it.

These days, I'm operating on this set of expectations:
I expect God to be perfectly good, but I expect all people and situations in this world to be imperfect.
I expect God to give me what I need to get through this day, and as He does that, I expect myself to continue learning to trust Him with tomorrow.

Faithfully,
Janet+