Loss

As human beings, we understand loss as a certainty. However, we most often experience it as an unwelcome event in our lives. Whether we lose something as simple as a set of keys or the remote control, or even something as major as a loss of a job or family member it is rarely convenient or well accepted. One could say that loss of any kind leaves us undone.

My family currently mourns the loss of a young family member. A tragic loss for us for sure. Oddly, death has the unique power to draw families together even more so than just living. Suddenly, our minds and hearts begin to grasp just how fragile and significant the life is in our current finite state. We realize that now our lives will be different because of the recent loss. The void is real. The pain is felt and shared. The experience grips you. Loss becomes real. We know if only for a brief moment the meaning of being undone. Our hearts... undone. Our minds... undone. Our love... undone. Our pain... undone. Our tears... undone. Our relationship... undone. Yes, in loss we are undone.

Grief and mourning are proper and need to be experienced and processed in a timely fashion. The question I pose: In our undone state, will we be trapped in the loss? Or will we embrace life and the lives around us revealing just how undone we are?

The Grace of the Cross

As I made myself ready for Good Friday, I read this prayer from The Valley of Vision. It struck me so I felt compelled to share it. I encourage you to just read it first. Then read it again and do so prayerfully. Have a blessed Good Friday!

O My Saviour,

I thank thee from the depths of my being
for thy wondrous grace and love
in bearing my sin in thine own body on the tree.

May thy cross be to me
as the tree that sweetens my bitter Marahs*,
as the rod that blossoms with life and beauty,
as the brazen serpent that calls forth
the look of faith.

By thy cross crucify me every sin;
Use it to increase my intimacy with thyself;
Make it the ground of all my comfort,
the liveliness of all my duties,
the sum of all thy gospel promises,
the comfort of all my afflictions,
the vigor of my love, thankfulness, graces,
the very essence of my religion;
And by it give me that rest without rest,
the rest of ceaseless praise.

O My Lord and Saviour,

Thou hast also appointed a cross for me
to take up and carry,
a cross before thou givest me a crown.
Thou hast appointed it to by my portion,
but self-love hates it,
carnal reason is unreconciled to it;
without the grace of patience I cannot bear it,
walk with it, profit by it.
O blessed cross, what mercies dost thou bring
with thee!
Thou art only esteemed hateful by me rebel will,
heavy because I shirk thy load.
Teach me, gracious Lord and Saviour,
that with my cross thou sendest promised grace
so that I may bear it patiently,
that my cross is thy yoke which is easy,
and thy burden which light.

*marah - bitterness, a fountain at the sixth station of the Israelites (Ex. 15:23, 24; Num. 33:8) whose waters were so bitter that they could not drink them. On this account they murmured against Moses, who, under divine direction, cast into the fountain "a certain tree" which took away its bitterness, so that the people drank of it. This was probably the 'Ain Hawarah, where there are still several springs of water that are very "bitter," distant some 47 miles from 'Ayun Mousa.

Bennett, Arthur G. The Valley of Vision A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions. Carlisle: Banner of Truth, 2003.

Reflect

A mirror has one function: it provides a reflection. Albeit, a reversed image, but it reflects an image all the same. One simple purpose, a purpose that a mirror can pull off without fail. It is one-tracked, one minded, and will not part from its grand design: reflect.

Webster's Dictionary defines the word reflect in several ways, but two stand out. 1) to give back or exhibit an image, likeness, or outline; 2) to make manifest or apparent. As I read the word "reflect" this evening, I stopped and pondered for a moment... What do I reflect?

I give an image of something. With every breath, every thought, every action, I make something apparent. Unfortunately, I am not as consistent as the mirror. I make no bones about it, I rarely reflect the same things consistently except my brokenness. Most often others see a poor reflection of what I call my faith in Christ. Yes, this is an honest confession of who is undone.

But in a twisted way, I am like a mirror. I do provide a backward image. Because he created me in his image, I am indeed a reflection of Him. But unfortunately the image I reflect is a distorted one, yet He continues to shine His light upon me, giving me the opportunity to reflect. I've heard it said that lighting is everything. In the case of Christ in my life, this saying couldn't be more true. Regardless of the my feeble (some would say awkward AO) attempts to reflect a magnificent glory that goes beyond description and imagination, the true image reveals itself in my broken, awkward, and yes distorted reflection. As to why, I cannot answer you in a justifiable manner, only suffice to say the proof is in the reflection.

As Paul rightly says, "Now we see but a poor reflection, then we shall see face to face... (1 Corinthians 13:12a)." Reflect.