Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Matthew 5:4
What if our misery and frustration in this life are nothing more than the mourning of the death of the cherished ideal version of ourselves? Daily life mercilessly tears through these fragile, mortal bodies stripping us of the confidence we have unconsciously placed in the assumption we are good people. Interruptive, inconsiderate, messy kids; a spouse we don’t ‘get’ and who equally doesn’t ‘get’ us; health challenges; financial problems; a boss who never appreciates our work; etcetera all work to break us down and convince us we are not in fact good. We stand there beholding the departure of the righteous self we thought we were…and it literally kills us. And yet knowing this…knowing that our greatest problems are not external but internal never seems to empower us to remain objective when the external stuff afflicts us.
What if for example, that feeling of “man, these kids are such a burden” that we know we are not supposed to feel is God showing us our inability to love and enjoy our kids in the moment all the time as gifts from God. One might reply, “Well, God doesn’t expect you to be a perfect parent“…Oh, no? That’s not what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5:48) . Ultimately though, my problem isn’t my kids, my wife, my boss, my financial situation, my health. My problem is I keep trying to live the righteous life via a “doable” version of God’s law (cf. Exodus 20:1 – 17).
How do you deal with life’s challenges and responsibilities? Surely, God’s word has guidance for us. Yes, it does: in the book of Leviticus, He commands, ‘Be holy as I am holy‘. This word of Law will guide you finally to the grave…where you’ll meet Jesus with whom you were buried…and with whom you were raised never to die again…even as you die daily.
It is Finished.
Law, Grace, & Daily Living 