Compassion: 30 Days of HeartworkSample

Healing Grace

HEART //   

There are so many ways to “handle” the sin, guilt and shame we collect along this journey of life. Many of us try to be good, try to overcome our shortcomings in our own strength. We can try to hide our shame so no one can see it. We may dismiss it, acting like it’s not a big deal to walk in opposition to our Creator God, pretending “sin” doesn’t exist. Or, we can humble ourselves, bringing our weakness to God and walking into His grace. 

But the incredible thing about God is that He sees and loves us even when we ignore or embrace our brokenness. He made a way for His strength to transform even our deepest, darkest failures... by giving His very Son to us as a gift. Jesus let go and landed in a manger. He faced all of the sin and darkness that this world could muster up, dying the death that is staring every one of us down, not because he had to, but out of love (Romans 5:8). It is God’s amazing grace that absorbs evil, overcomes it, and makes us new.

What good news! God’s grace replaces our shame and we are changed from the inside out  –  from masters of sin to sons and daughters in His Kingdom. 2 Corinthians 8:9 explains that “though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” When we receive God’s love, we embrace the fact that we are weak and let His power be the strength of our lives. We live in the realization of our own imperfection and welcome Him to fill our lives to overflowing. 

We are all, in a sense, orphans of this world. Left to our own devices, we end up isolated and powerless. But as children who lift our eyes, hands and hearts to God, we are now adopted! Of course, there is always the option to walk away from our new, loving home ... to repeat the cycle of pride, failure, shame and guilt over again. But as we see clearly the goodness of Jesus, the warmth of His love for us, we are more compelled to run away from our selfish ways and to invite others into this beautiful redemption story. 

WORK //

Today’s verse ends with Jesus bringing “unity to all things”! That’s incredible, and it’s all God’s miraculous job. Only He can take the mess we make of our lives and our world and bring unity. As you reflect on your adoption as a son or daughter of God, think of how you can join God in the family business of unity. Is there anyone you need to forgive? Are there friends or family who are separated from each other? Are there groups of people in your community who don’t understand each other? Pray for unity and for an opportunity to help build a bridge between people today. 

What if you found yourself far from home and afraid, or with little hope for decent education or even food, shelter and clean water? How would you hope for the Church to respond and lift you up in a time of need? As you continue to fill your Heartwork jar with money (sacrificial gifts that cost you something), remember that it’s touching the life of a child. God sees that child, and in a new way you are seeing them, and God sees you. The connection between you may feel distant, but it is no less real. In a way, it’s bringing unity! Praise God for the gift of serving others!