Dear ones, we are misunderstood.

I currently work in a customer service job for a commercial insurance company. I take many calls from people who are newer to trucking, taxi driving, and the like — or they have been in the business for some time but have never previously been covered by the company I represent. And it is my job to answer their billing questions. I was not a math-accounting major in higher ed, and I have not taken a math class since high school geometry. But my years as an ESL educator and as a counseling major have prepared me for this job.

I often have to take wording and numbers from written communication and try to translate them into terms that salt of the earth (and salty) individuals can understand. Some people are already frustrated when the call starts, but I am able to help them calm down and reach a place of reason and solution. Other people start off calm but confused, yet end up disconnecting the call on me mid-response. And some people just flat out start mad and end even madder, reminding me of the ugly side of human nature that needs an extra smattering of God’s grace.

There are times when I explain something methodically and the caller tracks with me and can say, “Got it, that makes sense now.” But there are other times when I have to explain it over and over again on one call or in a series of interactions. In the latter cases, sometimes those people will still be frustrated and not understand. But the situations that are perhaps the most rewarding are the ones in which we’ve had to go over it all 2+ times and then there is the light bulb moment and the relief in their voice when it all comes together, and they feel empowered to understand their own rights or business or options.

Jesus said that we, as followers of Him, would face trouble, but He called us to have peace and take heart in the midst of it (John 16:33). And in 1 Corinthians 1, Paul clearly points to the idea that what we understand, know, and embrace will seem like foolishness, insanity, and nonsense to the non-believer.

We will be misunderstood.

Some people who see and hear us will never understand.

But others will understand after they have seen and heard a certain number of times.

And every now and then, you or I will be fortunate enough to be the one who gets to explain it one (last) time and see the beauty of another’s light bulb moment.

But while I have continued to learn, over the past many months, of ways to answer questions more clearly and concisely, the procedures of my employer and the truths I need to convey have not really changed.

Likewise, in the face of those around us misunderstanding what we know to be true — in the face of their rejection or anger or mocking: we must not water down the core message, nor should we be ashamed.

Just because what is communicated is not understood does not make it any less true, good, or right.

So, stand up today — stand strong. Run the risk of being misunderstood by the many for the sake of the ones near you who need to hear or see Jesus. Again.

Be who you are. And take heart. The One we adore has been misunderstood for millenia.

Children of God through Christ Jesus, you are known and understood — and you always have been.

And there is a peace in the knowledge of this that nothing can ever shake when we trust in Him and believe His heart, for us, is good.

In that vein, I wrote a short poem yesterday, and here it is….

KNOWN BY HIM

We are known when we know

Not of what He’s doing.

We were known long before

Time held our names.

We are known when our world

Feels like it’s ending

While the One holding all things

Knows our days.

Let us hold tightly to this

Blessed promise.

Let us hold loosely to all

Our thoughts, weak.

Let us embrace the Great

Knower of our hearts.

Let us let go of the

Vainness we seek.

Just to be known by our God

Is the sweetest,

Just to be known by our Lord

Is His gift.

We will do well to know Him

And receive it;

We will do well to trust Him

And to rest.

Dear ones in the Lord, be known.

We, children of the King and joint heirs with Christ, are royalty.

In chapter 2 of his first epistle, Peter wrote, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy…. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”

From our human perspective and examples we have seen in world history, we have many different ways to think about living as royalty. There have been kings and queens and lords and ladies in various capacities have lived fairly upright lives and tried to treat those whom they ruled over or were responsible for with fairness, kindness, and wisdom. Additionally, there have been members of royal families who were self-centered and were more concerned with their own comfort, personal causes, and other selfish desires than they were with any sense of honor and being a good example of virtue to all those watching them. Finally, there have been those who carried royal titles while they lived — though their actions were evil and destructive, their legacy in history now an infamous one.

What does it mean to be royals, princes and princesses in the family of God as ones Christ has redeemed?

1. We have been lavished with the richness of God’s tremendous love (1 John 3:1). But unlike an earthly royal family, the storehouse of our budget cannot run dry. And we are called to NOT use it only for our own comfort and promotion; we are called to invite others into it, for them also to be adopted as royal heirs, walking hand in hand with us. We are not to live for our own pleasure but are to enjoy God’s blessings and provision, to live for His honor and glory.
2. We are to live as people of light (Philippians 2:12-16), as excellent examples of what is good, pure, and outstanding. We are to daily represent the One who showed us mercy and point others toward the beauty of that mercy. We are to find great joy in doing our duty: representing our Father God who is the king and source of all life and light (Psalm 36:9).
3. We have been given a new name and role in the procession of heavenly saints, and an inheritance that is being saved up for us, all awaiting us one day with our Lord, for eternity, in heaven (1 Peter 1:3-9). And with all of that, we also carry a hope in this life that no one can possess apart from being a royal member of God’s family.

Most of us do not eat every meal off of fancy dishes and wear jewelry that costs more than a car and live in an earthly mansion. But in the spiritual state of the universe, each follower of Jesus has been welcomed into the status of royalty.

When we remember this, it will rightly define our worth and how we honor Him and treat others. And it will impress upon us the desire to have those others join us in His kingdom.

Be who you are. Be royal.

Dear friends in Christ Jesus, you are healed.

I am not espousing a health and prosperity gospel here. I am not saying that while we reside in these earthly bodies, He will automatically heal every physical or other ailment which troubles those of us who follow Him.

I am, instead, reminding us that true healing in every way is only, ultimately, found in the blood, peace, truth, and grace of our Lord and Savior.

And I am rejoicing in knowing that our Lord who is outside of time already (presently as we might think of it) sees us as fully healed, fully restored, perfected, mended, glorious. He has foreseen us in that state since before time began.

This past week, I heard a beloved song (“Mended” by Watermark) again. Listening to it inspired the above word art sketch and stirred up the above thoughts. I have linked the video below for your edification as well.

No matter what pain, limitation, or sorrow you may presently feel, you will not remain there forever. In His strength, you are running to meet Him and all will be made new again.

My dear friends, be healed.

We who follow Christ are to be trustful.

I know some of you will say that trustful is not a word. Trustworthy, yes. Trusting, yes. Trusted, yes.

Well, I hope those words describe our identity in Christ as well. We must trust Him for initial salvation and also for stength to travel the rest of our journey with joy and hope. And as we are trusting Him, we must behave increasingly in ways that prove to others we are trustworthy, that we be trusted. Because we have in us this heart of Christ.

But today I use the word trustful to describe someone who is filled with trust.

FIRST, we think if a cup that is filled to near the top one drop or splash at a time. The filling is a process, it comes with time.

We have a hard time trusting God and trusting others. It is easy to project the way our trust was broken by this or that party in the past on to our present relationships. And even if we say we believe God is in control of all things, it can be easy to start doubting Him when we always think of what is right, good, just, and fair from our limited point of view. Yet, the more we try to consider His perspective and daily practice reflection and gratitude, the more surely the cup of our trust will become full.

SECOND, we think of that cup filled to the absolute brim to the point where the overflow naturally runs over.

When a person has negative and nasty things brewing in their heart, it might be more fitting to say that the overflow spews forth from them. But when the additional things bubbling up are nurturing and of the Spirit, they spill over and flow out. The latter is graceful, seamless, genuine, and attractive. It is undeniably noticeable to those around. A trustful soul is a soul full to the brim of peace and watchfulness.

We have all walked along in daily life and noticed women who were pretty, and even some who were stunning, in physical appearance. But it is not until we spend time with a woman, get to know her mind and spirit, see how she thinks about and treats others, and watch the way the view of her face is surpassed by the loveliness of her being that we can truly call her beautiful.

So it is with the trustful Christ-follower. Daily growth with Him, time spent reflecting on Him, and our reflection of His heart from our own outward to those around us: these are what mark us as trustful. Through the sweet moments — and even more so through the hard moments — our small cups will be filled to overflowing.

Be who you are. Be trustful.

We, who follow Christ, are redeemed.

I asked my husband what topic I should write on this week. He suggested the word redeemed. And I really had to stop and think about that, because outside of hearing this word in church many times over the course of my life, about the only other time I’ve heard someone use it is when talking about taking a coupon to a store and using it to save money while we check out.

So what does this word really mean? I turned to Webster’s dictionary and found a long list of meanings that were all tied to this word. Among them:

To buy back or win back

To set free from the distresses of harm, such as to free a captive via a ransom or to clear a debt

To change for the better or reform

To repair or restore

To remove the obligation of something by payment

To exchange for something of value

To fulfill

What a rich, meaningful word.

When we think of people who follow Christ as being redeemed, what is involved? He bought us and brought us back to God when we were lost in our sin. He set us free from the distresses of harm. When the evil one held us in the grasp of death, He interceeded. He paid a debt we could never afford to pay. He repaired our brokenness and restored our relationship with God. He removed the obligation of any other ransom or debt to be paid. He exchanged Himself, who is of infinite worth, for us who are simply created beings who have some worth in His loving eyes. He came to fulfill the promise that God made to us, that He would send a sacrifice on our behalf.

“Wow, that’s a lot,” you may say, “all wrapped up in that one word.” Yes, indeed.

It is a lot to consider and think about under the weight and meaning of a single word. But it is one of the most important words to chew on, to be reminded of how good God has been to us through Jesus — and how recalling this should stir up such joy, awe, and the desire to sing from our hearts, from our lives.

Lyricist Fanny Crosby wrote about this via a hymn in 1882, one commonly simply known as Redeemed. (While it was always sung early on to the tune “Redeemed” by Kirkpatrick, I am rather partial to the alternate tune “Ada” by Butler, introduced in 1967.)

The words of this song point to many powerful truths. They speak of how our redeemed status in Christ and Christ alone makes way for our place as children of God, and this is a gift of infinite mercy initiated by God. They say we are no longer alone. They point to the fact that we are filled with joy and left speechless at the same time. But in the end, we just want to proclaim it. And our hearts want to sing, for His love is the theme of our song.

If you follow Jesus Christ, remember who you are and live out who you are.

Live as one redeemed.

We are finite…yet heading for infinity.

Paul wrote about this in his first letter to Corinth, when he expounded on a theology of death and resurrection. In chapter 15, verse 22, he wrote, “For in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” As I discussed in post (2) last week, we are all loved by the Creator God who made us, but only those to trust in Jesus for forgiveness of sins will be able to know God’s love more dearly and perfectly once more. So, too, looking at Paul’s words, we see clearly that due to the fall of man and sin entering the world, death ensued — both spiritually and physically. For the person who never accepts God’s grace through Jesus and repents of their sins, there remains both death at the end of this life and then ongoing spiritual death (separation from God and condemnation) in the life to come. Yet, for the person who does repent and run into the blood of Jesus, even though physical death must still be faced, we move from life to life. And for now, we live with tension in two senses. First, we have a developing awareness of out limitations in the face of God’s vastness; we wrestle with the boundaries of our finiteness even as we learn to trust His infinite goodness more. Second, we have more of a reason to keep on living and doing good prior to death — and yet we become increasingly homesick for Heaven.

In verses 50-57, Paul goes on to talk about how we will be changed. It seems like a mysterious thing to us: how, when the redeemed in Christ go to Heaven, we will be transformed and “the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.” Yes, we wrestle still with doubts and temptation and negative emotions in this life, but we look forward to seeing Jesus face to face on the “other side.”

However, too often (if we are honest), we are afraid. We might feel more happy about all of this if we more completely understood the exact way it will feel for us when we take our last breath and slip from this earthly body. We might be okay at the thought of facing death if we could somehow guarantee that the moment of our death would be the exact moment when we were ready to die and have enjoyed life, our relationships, and our pursuits enough…and the manner in which we would die — if we could each just pass without a single tinge of pain.

Earlier in the same chapter, Paul writes, “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men” (v. 19). I know the idea of death is generally sad and even scary. But I have long wondered why many believers in Christ seem to think physical death is a cause for terror and something to be avoided as long as possible. Certainly, there is nothing wrong with enjoying the blessings God has given us while we walk the earth this side of death. Yet, how much greater will be our joy and His glory when we stand with Him and see Christ face to face one day?

Preparing to write this post reminded me of the song Mystery by Sara Groves (link to lyric video below). In that song, she honestly wrestles with her finite humanity and the process of her sanctification on this side. But then she realizes how much she needs to trust. For even though the mystery of how God will transform us when we move from this journey into the realm of the infinite is like a shadow beyond our understanding, it is also like a trust fall. The greatest trust fall of all. And when we know that He is supremely trustworthy, we know He will not fail us. However it will be to experience physical death, we will be caught. We will be led home.

We can have peace in this.

We can sojourn through the finite and run fearlessly, hopefully towards the infinite.

We are loved.

It is not a love we earned or have done something to deserve. And it is not a love between equals. But we are loved. And when we live as ones loved, in and through Jesus Christ, nothing can ultimately steal our joy.

Joachim Neander lived from 1650 to 1680. He wrote many hymns, including one known today by the English title of “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.” He wrote that beloved hymn in the final year of his relatively short life. Years later, when the hymn was translated into English, one translator chose the wording, “ponder anew: what the Almighty can do, Who with His love doth befriend,” while another translator decided on, “ponder anew: what the Almighty can do, if with His love He befriends thee.”

I am not fluent in Neander’s original language, so I cannot say which is more accurate according to that original penned line. But in consideration of the English variations, both are true.

The Almighty, for His part, does love us. It is in His nature to love, and He is love (1 John 4:16). He formed us and named us before time began (Psalm 139:13-16). Before we had any inclination of what love might be, He was already loving us. And even now, if we think we have begun to recognize His great love for us, we start to see more and more that we only see and understand Him dimly (1 Corinthians 13:12). We try to grasp His love for us — even try to emulate it. But how can we, when it is so vast and wide and pure and great? We cannot — according to any standard of perfection. And yet, He loves us still.

This love given is an unparalleled one. I asked my Chinese-speaking students once, as I was starting to learn more Mandarin, if I could use their term “ren ai” to describe the love between two people. They got kind of a strange look on their faces and said, “Oh, no. That kind of love is so high and great, like mercy and goodness shining out on the one who never deserved it. If we are honest, no person can really love like that.” Indeed.

God’s love for us and friendship with us is like the love of a well-balanced parent for an obnoxious toddler — only infinitely grander.

However, back to the second translation choice, the “if” is also reality. God loves every single person He’s ever made. But we do not all love Him, in the limited way we are able, while we live and breathe. First and foremost, we are separated from Him because of the unholy things we have done. And the only way to be made holy so that we can try to love Him and receive His love more fully again is to accept the gift of Christ’s sacrifice through faith. This is the “if”: if we hear about the good news of God’s gift to cover our unholiness, and if we embrace that gift in our own soul by believing…then, we move from ones being simply loved by the One who made us to ones who are befriended and capable of drawing near to the Him (Titus 3:3-7).

And when we see how we are loved and we taste of God’s goodness in His presence, we will often be drawn back into the wonder of what God has done, what He is doing, and what He may yet do as we are who we are, standing in the light of that love. (See Psalm 34:8, 84:4, and 86:11-15.)

Be who you are. Be loved.

Happy New Year, friends! Today, we turn down a new road of blogging devotionals with a different theme.

A couple of months ago, I was listening to a dear brother from our church, David, expound on a thought about identity. He shared about how he had heard someone use the phrase “be who you are” and was considering further what that phrase meant for those who profess to believe in and follow Jesus Christ.

That set my mind running on a track of what I know of Jesus as mentioned in the Word of God. Who is Jesus? Not just the attributes of Him that our culture now magnifies out of proportion — or says belong to Him but never really have been His according to His own life, teaching, and glorified place in the triune Godhead. But who is He, really? My head was flooded with adjectives and nouns to describe His identity, His attributes.

According to Websters dictionary online, the word identity is actually, interestingly, rather opposite and yet joined in its different meanings. Meaning one speaks of “the distinguishing character or personality of an individual” but the following meanings point to a condition of being the same with described or generic characteristics. In other words, our identity is all at once both what makes us unique as individuals — and also what characteristics we share with the one(s) with whom we are grouped or the one(s) we seek to be like.

The person who chooses to follow Jesus and live for Him wholeheartedly will bring their own personality, gifts, and vices into that relationship…the gifts to be further refined and used for good and the vices to be stripped away. But the call to follow Jesus is a call to surrender to Him and become more like Him. My individual identity must blend into the background on the canvas being painted, and His character reflected in me must rise to the foreground in the highlighted details.

Sometimes — even daily — we need a heart massage, to think on or recalibrate to His being, His characteristics, and what He has called us (to be). We need less of our negative characteristics and more of His wondrous ones.

We need to think about who we are. In Him. And we need to be who we are. In Him.

So, this year, at least once a week, I am going to post a new article here, each reflecting one aspect of who we are in Him — who He calls us to be. I invite you to return often, to read and think.

And then to go and to be.

One clear, warm early fall day in 2019, I drove out to the far western end of my local metro area to visit some old friends. It was my first time to see them again in a couple of years, to visit their lovely new home, and to meet their first child. Once their precious daughter warmed up to me enough to sit on my lap, I paused to absorb the tenderness of the moment. The sun was streaming in at an angle that warmed us comfortably, and a soft breeze drifted through the rooms carrying the scent of late flowers and a cool evening ahead.

I thought to myself, “How sweet life is. Only God knows what lies ahead, whether easy or difficult things. But for today, I will cherish this goodness.”

The next three years held many restrictions, lockdowns, and limitations. They bore sorrows and struggles. But they also carried growth, opportunities, and blossoming love.

Today, after rain clouds cleared and a moderate warmth returned to the air, I returned to that beautiful house to meet those old friends once more. This time, I met their second child for the first time and reveled in the happiness of earning her trust through smiles. And this time, they met my husband.

And we savored the taste of sweet cake and warm drinks, and the flavor of fellowship under the sun’s kind gaze.

Winter will come, and the spring afterward. Every single time. But before it all comes the fall: when we pause to step inside and draw near, surrounded by the bounty of goodness given by our mighty God.