Blessed are you

Personal Photo: Evidence of Jersey's lick-attack. We are not perfect, and while we may be judged for accepting the perfect love of Christ and His gift of salvation, we are blessed in the eyes of the Lord! He wipes us clean every day!

God can speak to us in so many different ways, but for me this week, my wake up call was rooted in the smudge on my glasses.

Motivation for work was absent, my positive attitude was lagging, I had gotten some snarky comments from some coworkers, and I found myself grumpy and out of kilter for the majority of this week. I was getting to bed too late, waking up too late, and my step-by-steps were imbalanced and slow. No matter how much I tried, I found that something threw me off each day. I spend my lunch hour coming home to let Jersey out and grabbing a quick bite. This day was no different and when I came home I was still struggling to get myself going. With only a few minutes before having to walk out the door to head back to the office, I focused on our little pet and scratched her belly and talked to her. In a paused moment, Jersey leapt to my lap, shoved her snoot in my face, and begin a lick-attack. Her tongue, as quick as a whistle, covered every inch of my face and neck and left me out of breath from laughter. The pick-me-up was much needed and I lingered for a few minutes longer than I should have with her before finally, begrudgingly, I left her a couple treats and scooted out the door.

I slid into the driver's seat and closed my door before noticing that Jersey's small pink tongue had left a slobbery smudge on the left lens of my glasses. Earlier the same day, I had taken the time to wipe them down, make sure they were spotless and professional. And in just the blink of an eye they needed cleaned again. I find that no matter how often I try to clean them, they never seem to be spotless. It was just the moment for the Holy Spirit to bring to my attention that the smudge on my glasses, the imperfection, the mess, was the exact reminder that I am loved, that I have someone who cares about me, that it is evidence of a life being lived. I couldn't help but consider how much I would rather have the smudge there compared to not having her around to cause the mess. My failure to keep the glasses clean was the chance for God to work in my life and show me grace. As little as it was, I left the smudge on my lens for the rest of the day, before wiping it off the next morning, because it turned my whole week around; it provided a new perspective into how the things we most often find messy are opportunities to ask God for help and the ways in which our constant failure and struggles can lead to grace from God.

Imperfection is a part of our nature. We are not perfect, and no one ever can be, because of the fall of man. We make mistakes, have things we think and feel and say and do that are not representative of God's love. We have to edit, correct, and straighten up every part of our lives to focus on Jesus and strive for intimacy with Him. I have found myself thinking about the imperfection of ourselves, and how we blemish God's perfect world. In the same way that the imperfections around me reminded me of how much I love the reason they are there, I cannot help but be reminded that God loves us, despite our shortcomings. Romans 5:8 states "But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." God's love is the entire reason behind Jesus dying on a cross for us to be saved from our sins. The Lord's love is so great, so boundless, that He wipes away our sins, cleans us up because of Christ's ultimate sacrifice. How beautiful is this? That even though we are flawed, that we are repetitively making a mess of things, God never gets tired of wiping us clean, of forgiving us when we come to Him, of loving us beyond measure. It can be challenging to cope with the reality that we will always fall short, but this Romans verse reminds us that our blemishes, our imperfections are chances for us to go to God, be reminded of His great love for us, and how despite them, He still chooses us.

Walking with Christ, accepting His gift of salvation, means that we will endure additional challenges in this world. The devil and his workers are always trying to render us inefficient for Christ. We can find ourselves judged for the metaphorical smudges on our glasses, can be poked at for trying to be better versions of ourselves. From little comments all the way to intense bullying, we can find that the world is constantly getting under our skin, making us feel alone and too messy to be loved. 1 Peter 4:12-14 can inspire us, as it states "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you." This verse addresses the ways in which we can find ourselves amidst those who think their judgement is more powerful than God's. Walking with Christ is always worth the unacceptance from the world and striving to represent the love of God. We seek forgiveness and acceptance from the Lord, not from those around us, and knowing that we will endure hardships along the way can add another layer of complication when we consider our imperfections, the places in our lives that need constant cleaning.

Because of our flaws, our inability to clean ourselves up, and the judgement from the world, it is understandable to feel as though we do not deserve the love of Christ. And that is because we don't deserve it. Salvation and the enduring love of God are gifts to us, and not something we will ever earn. Even when we strive to be like Jesus, to represent His love, it does not mean that we are able to save ourselves, to make our blemishes go away. It is challenging to accept that we cannot do it ourselves, cannot wipe ourselves clean. We still need God, we still need His salvation. One of the most loved portions of the Gospel is the Beatitudes. During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus begins with what is known as the Beatitudes, found in Matthew 5:1-12. Jesus speaks to each and every one of us, through the ways we can be disheartened, and can feel unworthy to be loved by Him. These powerful verses read as follows:

"Now when He saw the crowds, He went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to Him, and He began to teach them, saying:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness,

for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

These statements from Jesus give us a guideline as to how to find Him. When we are merciful, pure in heart, are peacemakers, etc. we can find God. He gives us directions. Additionally, they show that He recognizes when we struggle, when we feel messy and unworthy, even when we are trying to live a Godly life. Further than that, He tells us how God will respond to it, and how He always responds to it with love. The messes we make and find ourselves part of, the blemishes we have within us, the inevitable failure and struggles we endure because we are believers, are all chances for God to show He loves us, to remind us that our smudges are wiped clean by His grace every single time.

Jersey's brief little siege on my face and neck led me to turn my entire week around. I was sluggish, I couldn't get out of my own way, I was struggling to get myself out of the rut that I had found myself in at work. That tiny little slobber mark on the left lens of my glasses reminded me of God's love, of how He is with me, He is always showing me His love, and how I can take that as inspiration whenever I need it. When we feel unworthy, when we feel helpless because we cannot ever clean ourselves up and we are constantly in need of God's help, when we feel judged by the world for our blemishes and smudges, we can remember that we are blessed in His eyes. We are clean in His eyes. Because of our repentance, He wipes the blemishes away and makes us perfect. Blessed are you, my friend!