God’s Light Shines Through the Cracks of Life

Montgomery Advertiser Article for May 2010 --

God’s Light Shines Through the Cracks of Life --

---
“Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack, a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” – Leonard Cohen, Anthem

---
I was invited to a tea party a few weeks ago. It was not a political rally, but a good, old-fashioned, make-believe tea party with my three-year-old daughter. I gladly accepted the invitation, and took my seat on a soft, pink blanket between a stuffed frog and a rabbit. Before the party could get started, my daughter abruptly got up and said that her outfit would never do. She needed her black Batgirl boots, and as a requirement of attendance, she insisted I wear some too. Thinking fast, I reached into the sky, pulled down my imaginary boots and pretended to slip them on. This did the trick, and my hostess allowed me to remain a guest on the floor.

Before long, the rules changed. I could only sit next to the bear, not the frog. I could only sip from a pink cup, never blue. Because I wanted to stay at the party, I did what I was told. I must admit, I thoroughly enjoyed my stay, but the experience did get me thinking about life and faith. I left with a few questions. How good do we have to be and how much is enough?

The world behaves very much like my daughter. We expect arbitrary changes and certain randomness in our dealings there, but I have noticed that many times we find the same thing in the church. We are told that our salvation is by grace through faith. Our deliverance is nothing we earn, but comes as a gift through the sacrifice of Christ. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). This is a transforming realization when we first truly hear it. We begin to allow the fruits of the spirit to show in our lives as a reaction to the love of God. This love is nothing we do or earn, and it delivers us from the exhaustive rat race of striving and the human accolades of achievement.

But then we are made to feel less than a real child of God if we don’t do the things certain others expect. If we don’t support this referendum then we must not really love God. If we don’t vote for this candidate or attend these party meetings, our devotion and discipleship is called into question. If we don’t live a certain lifestyle, we are considered posers and fakers and not true brothers or sisters in Christ. The life of discipleship becomes a matter of performance. We begin to rack up “points” in the life of faith by how much we do, or at least how much others see us do. We look over our shoulders to make sure we’re doing things right. We check to make sure others are doing the same. We feel and sometimes are told that if our lives have cracks then we have failed God and neighbor. These insecurities chip away at the truth, and by allowing them to take over we can’t help but question whether we’re worthy of God’s love.

No one is perfect. Every single person in this world has major cracks in the form of issues, challenges, problems, habits, and any situation that separates them from God. There are no exceptions. Sure, some have a wonderful veneer and all seems great, but under the surface, the cracks exist, and so do the questions. Is this enough…am I good enough?

The danger in performance-living is that our cracks tend to come back. Like the ones in our homes that we patch and paint over, our insecurities and separation inevitably show up again. Many times, when we see the cracks return in our lives, we get discouraged and forget that we are covered. We give up, and give in to the cracks. We forget that no matter how much we work we will never earn salvation. We also forget that it’s already ours. We have but to reach out, take God’s hand, and ask for help.

Jesus’ body was broken and cracked, so that our brokenness may be made whole. This crack is how God’s light of deliverance came into this broken world. Jesus died and rose again for all of those who find their lives filled with the cracks of separation and sin. The blood of Christ covers and protects us.

At the tea party of faith it is not where we sit, the cup from which we drink, or what we wear that keeps us covered by the grace of God. It’s the light and love of God and it often shines through the cracks of life.