God is good.

All the time.

By far, my favorite and most repeated saying of 2016. I normally have a go-to scripture or a quote which I use to lift me on days I feel less than good. This one has been lifting me for quite some time, and mostly because I believe it fiercely.

There is something to believing and having uninterrupted faith. I personally believe in Jesus. He is the savior of the world. The story is true about him and his sacrifice. His mother, giving birth as a virgin, pure and made holy to carry this tiny miracle. She must’ve had tremendous faith after the angel visited her. Imagine- an actual angel came to her. How frightening and overwhelming it must have been. Gods personal messenger, standing before her. Bringing her news otherwise impossible for men to understand, let alone believe. And here we are, all these centuries later, still placing our hope in the one true king who began his human journey as a helpless infant.

We were given a simple plan of instruction, really.

Love.

Be like Jesus.

Instead of walking the line, we also have to tow it. We have been given a great gift of responsibility to be outreaching, to be like Christ. We have been taught to follow what the “red letters” say. His words, all of them, written in red. To me, it is a reminder of his blood sacrifice.  His personal instructions for me laid out as plainly as a simple carpenter could put them, bringing it down from heavens complicated language, to something even a child can understand.

So why don’t we understand?

Why are Christian people so quick to judge and so silent when it matters most?

Why don’t we stand up for one another in good times, and in bad?

If it is true that we believe God is good, ALL the time, then why aren’t we mimicking this?

Recently, I have been able to sit back and observe. God has placed me in some really weird scenarios, being on the outside looking in. I have seen people struggling, hurting and sometimes ashamed of what their lives have become. Too consumed by their current circumstance to ask for help on their own, and having no one from the church community offer.

I have seen people celebrating, having success and living life to the fullest. Christians and non-Christians alike. No one reaches out to them in this time either. No one says ‘Great Job” or “Congratulations” or even “God is good, all the time”.

I have watched resources go unused, squandered and held back.

I have seen good people lose their way entirely because they made a mistake that was deemed unforgivable by someone who should never have that kind of say in their life.

I have seen amazing things happen for faithful people and no one is around to celebrate their victory.

I have seen struggle turn into success, but all people can see are the mistakes at the beginning, not the outcome.

God is good, all the time.

Sometimes he sends us a refining fire, a circumstance, a situation. On occasion, he allows us to suffer the consequences of our choices, so we are prepared for what comes next. He never sets us up for failure, he teaches us and puts us in places where we will grow closer to him. He expects us to turn to him in every circumstance, every single thing that happens in our lives is an opportunity to climb on his lap and let him hold us.

The same is true when you are not the victim of the circumstance or choice. When you are the proclaimed Christian on the other side of this fence, you are to love. You are to act kindly, like Jesus. You are to be Christ to the one who needs it, and we all need it. We are to be like Christ all the time.

When you are a Christian, you don’t always have to agree, but you ALWAYS have to love.

There is no other way. This is the path set before us. Amidst all the rules and regulations of “Christianity”, there is one that outshines and far surpasses all the rest.

Galatians 5:22-25 (NIV) says:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things, there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

What holds you back from keeping in step with the Spirit?

Why do you stay silent when there are whispers in your ear from the Holy Spirit?

When are we going to realize it is time to lay ourselves aside and pick others up, regardless of how we feel about their sin?

Love is the greatest gift and the best-starting place. Through Christ’s sacrifice, we all get to start over, at every moment of repentance. Now is  as good a time as any to start over with love.

God is good, all the time.

We can be too.