Amen! I have often said that we Christians don't really want to be like Christ. We want His salvation, but not His Lordship. God sees our hearts even in the anonymous comments we make on social media. Help us, Lord, to be ever cognizant of you. Knowing that you see all in the recesses of our hearts and everyday we walk closer to the day when we will stand face to face.
What stood out to me most was the repeated posture of collective repentance instead of finger-pointing. That’s rare. Especially online, where everyone seems eager to identify everyone else’s sins while protecting their own blind spots.
This line especially stayed with me:
“At the foot of the cross, we all exist in repentance, in dust and ashes, all needing a savior.”
Yes. That.
I also appreciated the honesty about how easily fear disguises itself as righteousness. Sometimes people call it “discernment” or “conviction” when underneath it is simply fear, tribalism, pride, or the comfort of staying distant from people unlike ourselves.
And whew…
“We have memorized this verse, but so often, we live as if it were not true.”
That could summarize so much of modern Christianity.
The sections about online behavior and “faceless interaction” were painfully accurate too. It is frightening how quickly image bearers become abstractions once they are reduced to pixels, labels, ideologies, or enemies.
What I appreciated most though was that this prayer did not feel performative or self-righteous. It felt grieved. Tender. Honest. Like someone genuinely wrestling with the gap between the Jesus of the Gospels and the ways religious communities sometimes behave.
Secondly, what I find really helps is Romans 5:8; in that while we still sinners is when the decision to die for us was made. That means we were loved before we did a thing. We act in our own lives that we have to earn love regularly, that we need to repay the gift. But we were loved before it was given. Then we are told both in Romans 8 and Eph 3 how expansive this love is.
We struggle to self-identify that this love is ours. So of course, it's even harder to see that all our neighbors have this love given to them as well. Perhaps, if we would learn to re-think what it means to be loved and to love Christ in return, loving our neighbors wouldn't be so hard.
Amen! I have often said that we Christians don't really want to be like Christ. We want His salvation, but not His Lordship. God sees our hearts even in the anonymous comments we make on social media. Help us, Lord, to be ever cognizant of you. Knowing that you see all in the recesses of our hearts and everyday we walk closer to the day when we will stand face to face.
I love how you articulated this. Beautiful.
Amen...and oh me!
What stood out to me most was the repeated posture of collective repentance instead of finger-pointing. That’s rare. Especially online, where everyone seems eager to identify everyone else’s sins while protecting their own blind spots.
This line especially stayed with me:
“At the foot of the cross, we all exist in repentance, in dust and ashes, all needing a savior.”
Yes. That.
I also appreciated the honesty about how easily fear disguises itself as righteousness. Sometimes people call it “discernment” or “conviction” when underneath it is simply fear, tribalism, pride, or the comfort of staying distant from people unlike ourselves.
And whew…
“We have memorized this verse, but so often, we live as if it were not true.”
That could summarize so much of modern Christianity.
The sections about online behavior and “faceless interaction” were painfully accurate too. It is frightening how quickly image bearers become abstractions once they are reduced to pixels, labels, ideologies, or enemies.
What I appreciated most though was that this prayer did not feel performative or self-righteous. It felt grieved. Tender. Honest. Like someone genuinely wrestling with the gap between the Jesus of the Gospels and the ways religious communities sometimes behave.
Thank you for your kind words! I particularly appreciated that we are eager to point out sin in others but not in ourselvs.
First off. Love you Mary
Secondly, what I find really helps is Romans 5:8; in that while we still sinners is when the decision to die for us was made. That means we were loved before we did a thing. We act in our own lives that we have to earn love regularly, that we need to repay the gift. But we were loved before it was given. Then we are told both in Romans 8 and Eph 3 how expansive this love is.
We struggle to self-identify that this love is ours. So of course, it's even harder to see that all our neighbors have this love given to them as well. Perhaps, if we would learn to re-think what it means to be loved and to love Christ in return, loving our neighbors wouldn't be so hard.
Well said!
The cry of my heart, and so many others, mirrors your words dear one.
Amen, Amen...♡