Sanctuary

"I can't talk with other people about this. They wouldn't understand."

I've heard words like these many times -- and have expressed them some myself, too -- about addiction, abuse, fear, doubt, family trouble, and all sorts of other troubling issues. Though I don't always say it, my internal response is usually "You'd be surprised."

Working in a residential treatment center, serving in hospital chaplaincy, ministering in churches, and talking with friends, I've found the sentiment to be a common one, and it is based on the lie that everyone else has it all together. In hiding from each other, we hide from ourselves and from God, too. We can create barriers that keep us from reaching out even when we're so close. It's an awfully lonely way to live.

Anne Jackson describes the historical right of sanctuary in the Christian church, which defended criminals from execution or other unfair judgment and provided a place for criminals to find refuge until they received pardon or fair punishment. Churches still call their meeting places "sanctuaries," and I love how Jackson describes it:

"Church is a place for us to claim

the right of a modern-day sanctuary

where we can name our sins or ask our questions

and be protected and sheltered while we search

for grace, forgiveness, and answers."

The Church is not a building; it is people who follow God. And Jackson's word describe pretty well the kind of people I want to be.

Called Out, Called Into

"Do not mistreat an alien [also translated "foreigner" or "stranger" or "sojourner"] or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt." (Exodus 22:21)

It is pretty natural to respond to injustice with similar injustice, hurting others as we have been hurt.  Now that they were out of slavery, it would have been pretty natural for the Israelites to have mistreated or oppressed the aliens among them.  But God called them to a different standard, to a new way of life.  He called them out of the established order of things and into His design.

God calls us to the same -- to a life of both experiencing His grace and extending it to others.

Challenging Grace

Saul was a devoted and disciplined man, thoroughly committed to the task he had taken on -- persecuting anyone he could find that followed Jesus.  Then, while traveling one day, he suddenly hit a crisis time when he encountered God, lost his sight, and was instructed to wait.

Meanwhile, a man named Ananias didn't know these details of the story.  He just knew the part about Saul coming after people like him.  God spoke to Ananias, too -- not to tell him the whole story or the outcome, but to give him just enough, which was mostly some really challenging instructions.

What happened next seems pretty miraculous to me:  "Then Ananias went to the house [where Saul was] and entered it.  Placing his hands on Saul, he said, 'Brother Saul, the Lord... has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.'"

Seriously, amazingly miraculous!  "Then Ananias went to the house [where Saul was] and entered it.  Placing his hands on Saul, he said, 'Brother Saul, the Lord... has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.'"

In faith, Ananias sought out one who had been expressing "murderous threats."

In faith, Ananias drew close to Saul and reached out to touch him.

In faith, Ananias addressed Saul as "brother."

In faith, Ananias conveyed blessings that God had planned for Saul -- of sight and of the Holy Spirit.

Ananias had strong reasons to avoid Saul, to remain distant in every way, to address him as enemy, to rain down curses.  But when God called, Ananias acted in faith and obedience.  And "immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again.  He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength."

Saul regaining his sight is pretty significant.  But what captures me today is how God chose to work through the person of Ananias, and how Ananias agreed to join in.  Today I am captured again by grace, and challenged again to join wholeheartedly with God in the "ministry of reconciliation."

(The story of Saul and Ananias is found in Acts 9:1-19.)

-- Debi

Editing History?

Mark found a 13-digit number in our family room today and we wondered about it.  I looked it up as an ISBN search -- no luck with that, but I did find an interesting link:

Screenshot

It's the "edit your history" part that caught my attention.  Sometimes I wish there were an "edit my history" link for life.  There are things I regret, things I've said and done that I wish I could go back and undo, things I regret having not said or done.

Life doesn't have such a button, so I want to choose my words and actions well.

There is something else here, too -- the gift of grace.  Because of God's grace, I don't need to edit or block history.  I have a God and some friends with whom I can be open about where I've been, acknowledging what I wish were different about it without pretending it didn't happen.

Healthy honesty helps me to move forward in the right direction and at peace.