I am now, more than ever, thankful. I am now, more than ever, convinced that nothing can separate me from the love of God -- not weariness, not pain, not loss, not frustration, not heartache, not distance. I am learning to see the unforced rhythms of grace all around me. I am learning to feel these rhythms. I am letting them pull me into a dance where I don't quite know the steps but where the steps don't really matter after all. All that matters is grace. The grace of Easter.
Easter reminds us how we got our name. We are called Christians, not because we are identified with merely a principle, a philosopher, or a program. We are called Christians because we are identified with a Person. We are married to Another, espoused to Him. His business is our business as Christians. We have no other. He finished His redemptive work, but there is still the great unfinished work of all that He began to do and teach.
We aren't here to save civilization. The ship is sinking, but we can rescue some of the passengers. We cannot do without the finished work of Christ nor can we do without the unfinished witnessed of His church if we want to enjoy His grace today.
"The resurrection of Jesus Christ," wrote Barth, "was like a boulder crashing into the pool of history." Even now, all these years later, you can still see the ripples. Take a deep breath. The water is moving. It's a thing called grace.
P.S. I'll be taking a blogging break while I travel to visit my daughter and her family in Alabama. May I wish you and yours all the peace and joy that Easter brings.