To Be in Christ

 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death…

—Philippians 3:10

When the world goes crazy, we want to find comfort, peace, security, and escape.

I know I felt that way this past week as Las Vegas reeled from an unspeakable murderous rampage leaving nearly 60 dead and hundreds injured. I have felt it as hurricane after hurricane ravaged the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. I am still feeling it after the chaotic events of the summer and its racial violence, nuclear brinksmanship, and so on.

I share Paul’s longing to be with Jesus. I share his deep hunger to know the hope of resurrection.

But it is the other stuff that Paul mentions that keeps me uneasy.

Suffering? Death? Haven’t we had enough of both already?

Yet, that is precisely where Christ’s hope resides.

Our hope as followers of Jesus comes precisely through our assertion that Jesus suffered and died. Our hope is there because it is in the events of the cross that we know God understands us, completely and fully, for it is in the cross, that God enters the nadir of human existence. By joining with us in our absolute worst moments, we have assurance that God gets what we need, how badly we need it, and also the way to administer what we need so that it does the most good.

As we watch grieving families try to make sense of senseless death; as we watch victims pick through the wreckage of a home destroyed by a hurricane; as we deal with any number of disasters, failures, offenses, and all else that comes with being human—God is there. The cross shows that God was in each and every one of those valleys, no matter what those valleys were or are.

God knows what we need.

Because God knows how we hurt.

God also knows that we are our own worst enemies.

We create the messes we endure oftentimes.

Remember Jesus murmuring from the cross, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do?

I believe I have heard that same whisper over the past few weeks.

God knows us.

And that knowledge is the key to our salvation. God knows us. Therefore, God knows where we are broken and what is needed to mend those breaks. 

God knows us, so God already knows how we will discount our ability to live into our salvation. You see, that’s the kicker with Jesus—he offers salvation, but in order to realize it, we have to live into it.

What that means is that in order to fully experience grace, we need to practice grace; in order to experience forgiveness, we need to be forgiving; and in order to experience compassion, we need to be compassionate. When dealing with people we already love, that is no problem. When dealing with people who seem diametrically opposed to everything we hold dear, it becomes more of an issue.

Remember this—the shooter in Las Vegas was a human being. Our faith declares that every human being is a unique act of God’s creative will. The shooter was a beloved child of God. 

Can we love him as such?

That is where our faith praxis becomes exceedingly difficult. Yet, it is there that our redemption lies. 

When we can see that man as broken, lost, and in need of finding, then we are a step closer to salvation. We need to realize that any argument to keep our guns ungoverned and liberated is an invitation to other broken human beings to wreak havoc. Redemption is protecting broken children like the shooter from harming others and harming themselves. 

But we want vengeance. We want justice. We want the tallies to be equal. 

That is not grace. That simply keeps the spiral of chaos whirling all around us. Remember, as Gandhi supposedly said—an eye for an eye makes everybody half-blind. Grace allows all to see. 

That is where our hope resides.

Move toward that place as you are able, one step at a time, maybe one little step at a time. Start with someone who stole your parking place instead of a crazed gunman. Move from there.

Each step is a step closer to Jesus and all he has to offer.

That is the lesson for us today.