Word of the Week: Contrast

Charles Dicken’s starts his classic novel A Tale of Two Cities with the contrasting thoughts: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” He was going a different direction in his thoughts, but I find life at Grace right now to be a time of great contrasts. It truly is the best of times:  We are helping to plant a new church with Tag Tuck, we have a young assistant pastor with some great gifts taking Tag’s place as he plants, and this weekend we meet the leading candidate for the youth director position.  I feel like I have wonderful opportunities almost every day in my ministry. My hands are full of good things to do. Easter is coming and I’m praying we fill the room with our friends who don’t come to church often.

It’s a time of contrasts. It’s also the “worst of times” in that many friends are suffering. Two members are fighting cancer, two regular attenders at Grace are fighting health crises, and I hear about some other sadness that our members are struggling with which isn’t my story to tell. Outside my church friendships, I saw old friends on Saturday and we helped a high school friend say goodbye to her husband. Some dear friends have a young daughter with a mental health crisis.  One of my family members fights Parkinson’s disease regularly.

I feel full up on both of the best and worst of life. But, I think that is often the way life this side of eternity really is. On our very worst day, there are beautiful things happening all around us which quite naturally escape our gaze for the grief that is visiting us. On our very best days, when blessings fill us to overflowing, we are immune to much that is going on around us (thankfully!). Songwriter Andrew Peterson put it this way:

The world was good
The world is fallen
The world will be redeemed

O hold on to the promise
The stories are true
That Jesus makes all things new

Lord, give us grace to have full appetites for beauty and wonder, and full compassion to weep with those who weep.

Till next time,

Don