The Evolution of Our Faith | Raw Grace

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness.”
~ C.S. Lewis

At times I am tempted to build a wall around my heart. I feel safe behind my barrier of accomplishments and harden my heart towards past pains. I put on a facade and hide behind a fake smile. Over time, however, I have learned to break down this wall through letting God’s love, grace, mercy, peace and joy shine a light through the cracks and tear down my Jericho. 

Love and grace go hand in hand. I have found that to truly love someone, I must hold tightly to grace and humility. Christ is the supreme example of this. Philippians 2:8 describes how Jesus humbled Himself through laying down his life for all mankind. Somehow, through faith and His sacrifice of unconditional love, we may know the encouragement and comfort Christ brings. The consolation of love may fully be felt in the fellowship we experience with the Spirit. It is in this fellowship that our hope deepens, our joys are fulfilled, and His affection and compassion for us are experienced. This love prompts me to recall one of the Hebrew words for love, which is Hesed. This encapsulates His profound lovingkindness, steadfastness and loyalty towards humanity. His affections are bound to us through His covenant fulfilled in Christ. His display of faithfulness for us enables me to mirror this Hesed love towards those in my closest circles of relationship. It is there that I partake in a fathomable, real love and grasp the heights and depths of His and their love towards me. 

Over time I have learned to differentiate grace from mercy. Grace is His unmerited favor or blessings that we receive freely with no requirement of repayment. Mercy, on the other hand, is when He withholds the negative repercussions of our choices and spares us from the natural consequences of our mistakes. The promise in Romans 8:28 reminds us of how God, who deeply loves us and is concerned greatly for us, causes all things to work together as a plan for good according to His amazing purposes. 

In 2 Corinthians 12:9 Paul writes of how the Lord has said to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, My lovingkindness and My mercy are more than enough, always available, regardless of any situation.” For my power is being perfected and completed through showing itself most effectively in weakness. Therefore let us rejoice in our weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may completely dwell in us. I have found much solace also in Hebrews 4:16, which describes how when we approach the throne of grace and God’s gracious favor, with confidence and without fear, we may receive mercy for our failures so that we may fully experience His amazing grace to help us in times of need. 

One of my life verses is Joshua 1:5b-9, which reminds me to approach life with a courage that only the LORD can bring and restore. In this strength I can boldly follow wherever He may lead and run this race He has set before me with endurance. He lifts me up on eagle’s wings and enables me to soar to new heights and discover all that He has in store for me.

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About the Author

Mollie is married to her wonderful husband Dustin. She is a Wound Care RN at McKenzie Willamette Hospital. She enjoys being creative, getting outdoors and spending time with friends and family.

Trusting Our Mysterious God | The Wonder of It All

Isaiah 55:6-9 (NIV)
Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and He will have mercy on them, and to our God, for He will freely pardon. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is My word that goes out from My mouth: It will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the Lord’s renown, for an everlasting sign that will endure forever.” 

In the chaos of the world we live in, it is difficult for me to trust God’s sovereignty. Global and local news breaks my heart. How could God let these devastating things happen? It’s even more confusing to me when He answers my little prayers for personal needs, so unimportant compared to what I read in the news. Why is He so good to me sometimes when A) I don’t deserve it, and B) the world seems to be falling apart? 

I don’t know. I know what I’ve been taught: that the world is broken because of sin. God gives us free will instead of making us all robots (and we’re human and make mistakes), so bad things happen ranging from malicious actions to lazy neglect and even miscommunication with good intentions. I’ve experienced or been guilty of many of them. But He has mercy on us, thanks to His love and the sacrifice of His Son. Why did He do that? It makes me think of an old praise chorus that I learned in my youth: 

Oh, the wonder of it all
That Love should die for me
Oh, the wonder of it all
That He gave His life for me

Into the darkness precious life has come
Into a broken and weary world
God gave His only Son

Oh, the wonder of it all
Amazing love
(repeat a few times)

To me, this Good News is a mystery. I don’t think I’ll ever fully understand how or why He loves us so much to sacrifice this way, or why He lets events in the world unfold the way they do. His thoughts and ways are beyond me. But I’m grateful for that because of what it means for us when we turn to Him. He gives us hope and a future, pictured poetically in the Isaiah passage with joyful mountains and junipers in place of thorn bushes. 

My job is not to understand the whole mystery of God. It is to seek Him and call on Him, turn away from my unrighteous thoughts and toward Him. And to thank Him when He does answer my little prayers, because they are signs to me to help me trust Him. Best of all, they help me know His amazing love.

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About the Author

Jessie is a novice writer, with several books in various stages and a blog about travel and the journeys of women. She is very excited to be a part of the CitySalt blog team. She has been blessed by a few communities of Christian writers that have encouraged her dream. She lives with her sweet husband, Chris, their 5 funny kids, and 1 fluffy cat in Springfield. She loves hiking and other outdoor and indoor adventures with her family.

Love Your Enemies | Praying for our Enemies

Luke 23:34
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up His clothes by casting lots.

Matthew 5:44
“But I [Jesus] tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

The idea of loving your enemies is, in my opinion, one of the things that sets Christianity apart from many other religions. Unfortunately, it’s also one that we fail at miserably. I am heartbroken when I see Christians setting such a terrible example for the world. Dehumanizing politicians, using insulting names for people who want a better world in a different way than they do, even desiring the extermination of entire people groups-- I’ve seen it all, from family, friends, and former students of mine who claim to be Christ-followers.

But am I any better? Who are my enemies? How have I treated them?

I have lashed out in anger against people who I deemed to be working against me. I have held grudges long after I should have forgiven someone. I have cultivated resentment. I have thrown people under the proverbial bus because I was frustrated with them. And probably much more.

All of this could have been avoided, I’m sure, if I’d taken the time to pray for my enemies before I spoke or acted. Praying for them serves several purposes. It gives us compassion. It reminds us that we have all been sinners. We are all just as guilty as the people who were actively participating in the death of Jesus. Thank God for His grace, mercy, and sacrifice in the form of His Son. We can remember that if the person we’re at odds with isn’t a Christian, then they may not know what they are doing, and we can ask for them to know God’s forgiveness like we have. And if the person is a Christian, we can ask God to guide us both.

Praying for them also gives us the strength and ability to love them in a way that we are incapable of in our own power. I experienced this firsthand while living in Central Asia. Though the details of this experience might be better shared over coffee, I can tell you that God gave me a supernatural love for a group that I had every reason to hate. I’ve also had this experience in teaching, when a student is acting disruptively or disrespectfully. Of course I love my students and don’t see them as enemies, but I don’t always feel that love toward them at the moment. Even teachers are human! But when I pray for them, my attitude changes and sometimes even their attitude/behavior does, too.

Now I’m not saying that we need to coddle everyone or condone everyone’s actions. I think it’s okay to vehemently disagree with someone’s actions or policies or attitudes, and to call them on it. But we can do this without dehumanizing them. They are made in God’s image, just like the rest of us; and we need to honor that, even when they don’t deserve it. Because all of us have “not deserved it” at some point. Thank God that He, in His love, made a way for us all to be forgiven. And Jesus, who knew that He would be killed violently, gave us the ultimate example of loving our enemies.

Dear Lord, please guide us as we deal with our natural human emotions, including hate. Help us to remember that humans are never the ultimate enemy. And since we have all deserved the worst, help us to have compassion for those we don’t like as we remember our own guilt and how we’ve received grace. And fill us with love for them, so we can pray for them to know You more. Or nudge us to pray for them, so we can be filled with love for them. Whichever needs to come first in each case. You know our needs, and You know their needs. Thank you for loving us all. Amen.

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About the Author

Jessie is an educator, she currently teaches teens and has taught overseas. She is also a novice writer, with several books in various stages and a (long-neglected) blog about the journeys of women. She is very excited to be a part of the CitySalt blog team. She has been blessed by a few communities of Christian writers that have encouraged her dream. She lives with her trusty sidekick cat, Arwen in the foothills of South Eugene, where she can go hiking within minutes of the sun coming out from behind the clouds.