Tuesday, September 15, 2009

to two remarkable human beings, thank you for being our hope.

Mom and Dad, you both are remarkable! Your love for our family, the world and God's Church is profound.

Thank you for being as true, relevant, and transparent as you possibly could and can be in my life and in your relationships with all those around you. Thank you for leading thousands upon thousands of students before a God who loves them and accepts them. Thank you for being attentive to students needs, their pain, and their hopes. Thank you for listening and helping to change people's life circumstances so they can find hope for new tomorrows. Thank you for truly being God's hands and feet to a world of students who are often struggling to be more than mere vagabonds. Your example has made me and thousands of others who we are today. We are pastors, teachers, scientists, musicians, parents, government leaders, cooks, marketers, farmers, police, military men and women, social workers, laborers, contractors, and so much more because you taught us to believe in ourselves, in our families, and in a God who loves us no matter what.

As a voice for God's Church I apologize for how the "church" has hurt you in the past, in the present, and will hurt you in the future. My heart mourns due to the relational and spiritual carnage the church can and has caused. May God's church learn to again be his church; to stand for righteousness, justice, and love.

Thank you for believing in the sovereignty of God, even when He doesn't seem sovereign. thank you for remaining faithful when circumstances of life would push most to run. thank you for teaching me about a God who is full of compassion and seeks to fill the world with hope, and abundant life.

May you feel God's immense hope for tomorrow, May His peace that passes all our understanding flood your week, may you feel the love of Christ's "true community" as you walk through the week and may the God who is a righteous judge correct all of us as we fail to love the world around us.