To the person who encounters Jesus through relationships and community,
Do not be discouraged.
There will be seasons that you will confuse the face of Jesus with the face of those that he has created. For a time you will place them on the throne of your heart without even realizing it. You will rearrange the commandments to love God and then love his people, making the honest mistake that they are the same.
Those seasons will feel exhilarating. You will experience a heightened zeal for loving others in ways you never have. You will open up your heart and your homes and you will use the parable of the lost sheep as your mantra in the name of pleasing people and self-sacrifice. You will chase and you will covet. You will force feed and you will force fertilize. You will build fences in your heart to keep the sheep in and sky high trellises to keep the vines contained. You will put yourself on the altar as a sacrifice in the name of leaving the 99 to rescue the one whom you swear you can save. You will bring the straw, bind your own hands, and you will even attempt to light to fire. You will drag people off of their mats without ever asking if they wanted to be healed or if they even knew who the healer is.
Then, it will be their time to leave. They will leave, or their course will change. Regardless of whether the transition is in order or it is gut wrenching, those people who you’ve allowed to take the seats of your heart will politely slip from the chair, put their feet on the ground, and they will walk towards their own destiny.
You will feel empty. You will feel betrayed. You will feel anger towards those who left and anger towards yourself. You will be angry with God, spending nights pounding his chest with your fists of prayer and lament. This is your desert season. These are the times you will wander through the dust while Jesus trails behind you, patiently waiting for you to turn around.
But hear this, you will not stay in the desert forever.
One day, in that empty room that was created by the violent tearing down of idols, your Savior will appear standing in the doorway. He will be patient with your grief. He will be gentle with your aches and pains. He will fill that room with soft blankets of grace, warm lights that echo his unconditional love, and a comfortable place to rest while you get to really know him for the first time. Your mind will become quiet. Your heart will be at ease. You will begin to hear the whisper of his voice before you hear the roar of your own.
So, for those of you who know that the call to love God’s people is one that is written on your heart, do not be discouraged. One day you will be standing in front of a crowd of image bearers, and rather than being controlled by the rush to please or save, you will be filled with peace by doing nothing at all. Your Savior will do the work for you. You will know Jesus so intimately that you will be able to love God’s children from a place of abundance that flows outward, not an empty room that craves to be filled.
