This world is a broken place and the events surrounding the presidential election have caused a reaction throughout our country. The final results show that our nation is divided. The pain and anger is not limited to a certain percentage of the population, but appears to be felt across the board. How do we move on? Can we manage truth and grace as part of the process? How do we manage emotions of the unknown?
Recently, I was asked to sit on a panel for an event called “Surviving the Holidays”. What I realized was that the bigger issues that present themselves to our nation are being played out more intimately in individual battles. Individuals and families are struggling with addictions, broken homes, broken hearts, and suffering. Those battles are not new, but seem to be compounded by the anger, fear, and sadness. The emotions are rampant whether red or blue in this post-election season.
What do we believe?
Last night one of my colleagues said “If we (as Christians) actually believe what we say we believe, then we have hope.” I loved that. I love it because in this broken and needy world, it is easy to take our eyes off our truth. It is easy to forget that this world is not our home. We can forget the fact that regardless of what chaos surrounds us, God is still in control of the outcome. And if we believe that, then we also know we are not to sit idly while the world around us suffers.
We are created to be in action with our faith. This requires us to live our truth and fight injustice. It means we continue to tell our story of faith, and bring hope to the broken places and the suffering. However, we must match the truth with grace for us to bring the lens of love to the fight for justice. And what is that grace? That grace is the unmerited favor of God. It means we have to acknowledge that God loves every soul, not just the ones like me. Even the soul who seems to perpetuate the injustice.
Here is an article I wrote for Soul Care Collective on how important that balance of truth and grace is.
http://www.seedbed.com/why-we-must-balance-grace-and-truth/#comment-34243
And if you are looking for a wonderful, quick (92 pages) read on how grace and truth must both be present in our work as we move forward—consider reading Randy Alcorn’s beautiful, and for me, life-changing book, The Paradox of Grace and Truth.
