On Sunday, Jonathan preached a message in Brooklyn that I didn't want to end because I believe in it that much. He spoke on scripture (in our Rhythms series)  and its impact on our lives. He spoke on how scripture is the divinely inspired word of God. This does not include believing in a set of propositions or ideas or reading scripture while searching for a checklist or a blueprint or an agenda to fit into your life.

The divinely inspired word of God means God gives us his message through the imperfection of humanity. Not by going around humanity but by going through humanity, through people. And how do we see this most clearly? Through him giving us his son Jesus. He goes not around humanity, but through it. Living through human life with all its pain and suffering, messiness and joy.

He knew what our world still struggles to comprehend, that when we go around humanity we only create uniformity. When we subscribe to the polarities our world tries to organize us by, when we put each other into categories and never think twice about why someone might feel or act the way they do and what broken systems led them to those feelings.... these are all the ways in which we add to the brokenness.

But I want more. I want shalom. I want peace and wholeness. I want to live a life that feels full and divine and filled up with humanity, the good, the bad and everything in between. I want to feel alive in every sense of the word. When we embrace our humanity, when we acknowledge and sit in humanity, it creates unity in the scripture, unity in the love of God, and of what God’s love truly looks like in people and in our world.

Scripture is not a system of dogma or orthodoxy or denomination. It’s the divinely inspired love of God. Scripture calls us to go through humanity which means we sit in the struggles, the imperfections, the beauty, and the questions. We don’t need uniformity in how we respond to the little details and contradictions of scripture, we need unity in the generous and infinite love of God. Love should be what you see reflected back at you when you look into the eyes of the broken, messy, ordinary human beings you live life with everyday. 

If we truly believe that God's love for us is infinite, generous, and just, then how does this change the questions we ask about who Jesus is and the message he’s offering? 

I want to ask better questions about the love Christ is offering. I'm tired of being bogged down in the details. I want to be free in my humanity, knowing I am loved by a God who cares more about unity than uniformity. 

If you want the same thing then join me on Tuesday night, Nov. 5th for the last event in our Faith, Culture, Questions series to listen to author, Justin Lee, and join me in asking better, harder, more humane, and loving questions about what our Jesus has to offer all of us.