Equations
Growing up math was a strength for me. I was great in adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing. You could throw letters in the mix and I would figure it out. You could flip equations, you could take things away, you could make it harder, and yet, for some reason, I was able to discover the answer.
I wish life was like that. I wish that someday I would be to just figure out every problem in front of me. I wish that I knew the answers.
I do know one answer, the main answer. His name is Jesus. And sometimes, my friends will over-simplify things saying, "The answer is Jesus, duh!" But, I feel like, although this is true, Jesus is a bit more complex than we give Him credit for. He is the King of kings and the Creator of all things after all...
I bring this all up because recently I have been struggling with one certain equation. I know the answer: Jesus. But, I just can't seem to figure out how to place the answer into the equation to solve it.
Here's the equation before me:
God is Love // God loves us // We reject God's love // We must earn God's love back // Performance and perfection earns love // Therefore, since we must earn God's love, others must earn our love and acceptance = Jesus?
Here's the problem: this isn't the Biblical or Gospel way of living. This equation above is missing the answer, it's missing key variables to solving, and it's flat out making more problems. Grace is lost in this equation. Grace is getting favor and the things you don't deserve. In the above equation, grace is replaced with justice. Justice is when you get what you deserve. I feel like for many, this is how we are going about trying to solve the problems of life: justice. That person needs to get what they deserve, I need to get what I deserve, etc.
Here's what happens when we replace grace with justice (and a incomplete vision of justice, I might add): we make ourselves work for something that has been freely given, we make others work for something we should freely give, and we end up creating more problems with the equations of life.
Here's something that might help with the equation: grace and mercy. In Scripture, we recognize that God's justice and mercy meet in the life and death of Christ Jesus. He takes on what everybody deserves because of sin, but God distributes mercy through Him because He is good beyond our imagination. If we implement grace and mercy into the way we see ourselves, the way we see others, the way we live, work, etc. maybe we would shift the equation more and find that the only way to solve the problems of life is to first receive and live from the answer.
Let's change up the equation a bit:
Jesus = God is Love // God loves us // We reject God's love // God extends grace // Grace empowers us to receive love // We live from the model of grace and love = Jesus
The shifting in the equation and the reception of the answer leads to an understanding that receiving God's grace and love can do more for us than a lifetime of working to earn what He has already given to us. I believe when we finally receive this, we will see a shift in the way we treat ourselves, the way we treat others, the way we love the Lord, and the way we live.
So, maybe this equation isn't what your problem is right now. Maybe you have a whole other set of variables. I can't tell you I understand, I can't tell you I know everything, I can't tell you that I have it figured out. But I can tell you this: I promise that if you shift your equation to have the answer be the beginning and ending, your problem may not change, but the way you live in the midst of it will. Problems become opportunities when the answer permeates our equation of life.
I write all of this to say that I struggle everyday to be gracious toward myself, and because of that I give little grace to those around me. I don't want you to have that same problem. I long to be found living from the answer in the midst of the problem. I long to see problems as opportunities where I am present in His presence. I long to see the Church walk in this same manner, and I believe it will happen. Some days are better than others, but I need to shift my equation to receiving the answer as the beginning and the end. How about you?
