Afternoon Tea: Redemption
Like most people, I have gone through my shares of up and downs. I've had times when I've been hurt, broken and distant from my family, my friends, and my Father God at different times in my life. This past year, while going through a challenging time in my faith and life, I realized that in times like these we have to decide how we respond to tough situations. Oftentimes it means choosing to stay in a relationship; with God, with family, with a significant other, with a friend. Whatever the situation, there is hope. I've learned that God yearns to redeem and restore our relationships-especially if it concerns Him. In God, wholeness is found. God can give us strength and grace to love in the midst of difficult circumstances. At the same time, we can't ignore the fact that the enemy is trying to win us over. I often chose to indulge in the side of badness this past year, and it often was simply regarding knowledge. We think of sin as one type of action, perhaps one that is physically harmful to someone else or openly uncaring, but sin is defined as much more than just that. Sin is anything apart from the Lord. A lot of sin I have struggled with in the past concerns boasting in knowledge and getting caught up in selfishness and understanding. I recently overcame this after choosing to indulge in it for so long, and it took me falling far from the path of righteousness to realize that's what I was doing.
Right now I'm going through a beautiful process of seeing the Lord and His redemption, in my life and also in the lives of my family and some friends. It is a process full of goodness and hope.
One of my favorite novels is 'Redeeming Love', by Francine Rivers, a story of a young girl named Sarah (though her name is changed to Angel) who expects nothing from anyone but betrayal. From a young age, Sarah was sold into prostitution and only survived because of the stone cold barrier she put up that blocked out any and all emotion, keeping hatred alive inside of her. She meets a godly man named Michael, and over time she falls in love with him and he helps her to bring her barrier down. However, this is not enough. At the end of the story, the Lord calls Angel to Him. He calls her to choose Him by being loving, vulnerable, and open to Him. Once she learns to do this, God is able to heal her broken soul and body, and although Michael loves Angel more than any person, she learns that the Lord's love is the truth and prevailing love that will never let her go. Every time I read this story I am reminded of God's unconditional love, one that is full of hope, consumption, redemption, and restoration. This love starts with the Lord, for it is in Him that these good attributes are found, but we humans play a part in it as well. We must respond.
