A is for atonement, which is not just the title of a romance novel, but it is at the
center of the greatest love story ever told, one that we are all characters in.
B is for beginning, which is actually a much better place to start, a perfect place, a
garden. C is for controversy, because you're probably
going to D disagree with more than one of these letters,
and that's okay. E is for embrace, because we're so quick to
dispel anyone who isn't exactly like us. F is for faith, not feeling, because this
has a lot more to do with trusting God, even when we can't feel Him.
G is for the gap that no longer exists because it has been traversed by another G, grace.
H is for home, as in, part of the family, a seat at the table, finally having a place
where we truly belong. I is for impact. The very word itself suggests
a collision, which means that making a difference and being a light is rarely as soft and pretty
as it sounds. J is for a jellyfish cannot live outside the
water. While living in the water, though, it is beautiful, electric, and a work of art.
Are we really that different? K is for kit, because this God doesn't come
with exact instructions that tell you how to build the Lego tower. This God gives you
a heap of blocks and wants to partner with you in creating something new and life-giving.
L is for long, because this is not a short journey. This is not even a lifelong journey.
This is an eternal journey, but we certainly don't have to do it alone.
M is for mountain. It's easy to find God on the mountaintop. It seems obvious to turn
to Him in the valley. The trick is still searching for him at sea level, which is where we spend
most of our time. N is for never, because it's dangerous to
use absolutes when describing the Absolute. The only thing that God can never do is be
categorized, predicted, or controlled. O is for obsolete, because that is exactly
what the church will be soon if we don't start engaging with the world instead of judging
and hiding from it. P is for perseverance, because it's over-needed,
underrated, and quickly disappearing. Q is for quack. The majority of people in
his day thought Jesus was crazy. If we don't have a few people that think we're a bit off,
then perhaps we aren't following Him as closely as we should.
R is for re, remain, remind, reform, redemption, revolution, resurrection. You get the idea.
S is for soap, which could never wash us as clean as the real S, which is salvation.
T is for timing. This is not something that we are in control of. Our job is to be ready
to react when the timer goes off, when He says, "Go."
U is for underestimate, because no matter how big your view of God gets, you will always
underestimate Him. V is for vending machine, because God is not one.
W is for work. We're all so afraid of this word,
but just because we aren't saved by works doesn't mean we're not called to do them.
X is for x-ray, because a healthy interior
is the key to a healthy exterior. Pure, obedient, Godly actions only flow from a pure, obedient,
Godly heart. Y is for yesterday, which is a great tool
for learning but a terrible thing to define yourself by.
Z is for zebra, because things aren't always as black and white as the religious leaders
try and make them seem, which also means that none of these letters are the right answer,
nor are any of them the wrong answer. They are only one of many possible answers.
What are your letters?