Deep connections

“When I came here, I had no clue why. I mean, I haven’t been in a church since I was five years old. That’s the year my folks got their divorce and I had to go live with Aunt Tasha. But my friend Mia invited me here. She said it’d be fun, and they’d have free food (the kind I like). And really, who’d miss free chocolate? Not me!”

She took a deep breath.

“Anyway, I figured out that Jesus is really real this weekend. I learned to see a lot of things for what they really are — lies. And you know what? A lot of people like me, we believe those lies! Pretty soon we’re living those lies, and we don’t even realize it because it feels so ... normal.”

She looked at her new friends surrounding her as she stood at the podium. One of them whispered in her ear and handed her a tissue.

“Oh yeah. I’m Paula, and we’re from the table of ‘Truth Wins!’ Anyway ... “ She dabbed tears from her face as she found her voice again. “Anyway, truth really does win. People kept telling me that God was testing me, or punishing me, or ... something. I sure didn’t want to know that Jesus!”

“So I’m going to go back home and find a church that knows the real Jesus, a place that will help me hold onto Him and learn from Him, a place that will help me grow some deep faith connections. My new friend Ashley says I can come check hers out, but no matter what, I’m just going to keep learning and living more of the real truth!”

As Paula stepped to the side, the young women looked at each other to see who’d brave the microphone next. They’d all been on a special retreat, a time away to get closer to God and deepen their lives as followers of Christ, and they’d been invited to share what the retreat had meant to them during the evening’s closing worship.

Ashley stepped to the microphone. She took a deep breath, and this time Paula handed her a tissue and laid a hand gently on her shoulder.

“OK,” she began, “It really is almost time to go back home. Home. Well, I’m going to need His truth where I live. Right now, I’m living in the shelter at the Christian church down the street from here. My mom’s in jail and my dad, well, who knows where he is these days. I’m 17, and none of those help places want to help me, ‘cause I’m too old. Too old! I always thought, you know, 70 or 80 would be too old for something, but 17? Anyway, I found out I can never be too old, or too young, or too anything for God to love me. Jesus will always want me, and that’s the truth. Paula’s right. I’ve got connections I never even thought about before. When the world dishes out its lies, I’ve got forever truth in Jesus. I’m gonna live in those connections, because they’re deeper than any hurt I’ve ever had, deeper than any fear I’ve got, deeper than any mistakes I’ve made, and deeper than anything I could ever think of. I’m ready!”

As Ashley turned from the microphone, Paula caught her in a strong embrace. Soon all five young women were holding on tightly to each other. As they made the way back to their seats, ‘Amen’s’ filled the air. This had been some weekend.

Many things compete for our attention in today’s world. The psychology of advertising is big business. It takes a big faith in a big God to see and live into what is bedrock truth — Jesus Christ. Those who claim Jesus as Lord and savior are called to live in that truth. We are called to walk in His way, to live connected to His life. Way. Truth. Life. These are the deep connections we claim as disciples of Christ.

Scripture speaks of many “Antichrists” that have come (see 1 John 2:21-25). Anything that tempts us, pulls us, hooks into our very human temptations and cravings is an “anti-Christ” force in our world.

These things work against the truth that is Jesus the Christ. They weaken our faith connections, and sometimes even threaten to destroy them. But God never gives up on us. God wants a deep connection with us. Christ came to point the way for us.

As Ashley put it so well, His love-and-grace-filled connections with us are deeper than any fear, any hurt, or any mistakes we’ve made.

So let’s get — and stay — connected. Deeply. Strongly. Forever.