Thursday, September 19, 2013
Six Words You Should Hear Today
In this beautiful reflection from her blog, Rachel Held Evans reminds us of God’s delight in us. This is news to many people who think of God as a stern judge. As Rachel says, “Too many corners of the Church have been infected with a legalistic, performance-based view of God in which God stands over our lives with crossed arms and a disappointed scowl, applauding only when we get everything just right and rendering judgment on everything we do wrong.” She says that “some pastors seem to thrive in lording this disapproving God over their parishioners.” She contrasts this idea of God with a devoted parent who loves watching and listening to her children in their everyday activities— and whispers in their ears how much she enjoys seeing them at play. Rachel says this describes the God we meet in Scripture and in Christ, “the God in whom we live and move and have our being, the God who rejoices over His children with singing, the God who spreads Her wings over her children like an eagle over her chicks, the God who loved the world enough to experience all of its pain alongside us, the God who—as Nadia Bolz-Weber puts it—‘would rather die than be in the sin accounting business anymore,’ the God who loves to watch us play.”
If you’re feeling discouraged, pressured, judged, worried that you’re not “performing” well enough to please God, and convinced you’re an unworthy mess, a hopeless failure in the competitive game of life, Rachel Held Evans has news for you. Good news. Take time to read her blog post and listen to God speak those special six words in your heart. You’ll be glad you did.
