…shines a beautiful light.
Easy thing to say, right? More than once, I have felt helpless and at times even annoyed when I heard people say something to that extend. It can very well be that also you feel unbelief or resistance when reading the above statement. Still, if this counts for you, I would like to challenge you to do the exact opposite of what you feel like doing. Bear with me, stay here and keep reading.
Are your feelings telling you that the light we’re talking about is not for you? That the end of the tunnel that you’re in seems eternally out of reach? Are you somebody who shows a different kind of person on the outside, than who you really are?
I think many of us can relate to those odd Sundays when we felt somewhat out of place in church. We could see the beauty in the sermon that was preached, but we also felt shame… shame for certain aspects of our lives, and we refrained from talking about that with our friends and with God.
Or you may have memories of when you were a school kid. You had stolen a handful of candies from the local store and a week later, you and your mom were there again. The shop owner, equally as unaware of your deed as your mom, glanced at you, smiled and told her how adorable you looked with your blonde, curly hair.
To a certain extend, we all know what it means to live with secrets. But what if your secret is bigger than a few stolen candies, or some petty sin? What if keeping your secret equals sheer survival?
At least two individuals from our prayer group have lived dual lives for tens of years. We know what it is to be forced by circumstances, to remain silent. Some years ago, I wrote a poem about the subject:
The child in his eyes
Still cries out for help
But the words in his mouth
Also now
Choose imprisonment
We know how it feels. We have experienced what it is to bite off your tongue time after time, to create a maze of old secrets and new lies and then get lost in the overwhelming amount of questions about what is real and what fantasy. We know the terrors of never tell and told you so!
And hey, we cannot offer you easy solutions. But there is one thing we know: there is a place of inner peace in the eye of the storm. And although all the forces of nature and authority in your life are screaming at you that there is no forgiveness for what you have done, we can guarantee you that that is a lie.
There was a sacrifice that made the very difference. One sacrifice that put a stop to the need for that seemingly endless cycle of bloodletting and extermination of lives. It is done is a fact, not fiction. And thanks to that one sacrifice, never enough has lost its poisonous sting.
This one Man has become a scapegoat. He was hunted down and tortured. He was the Lamb that was slaughtered and the Child that was born to be pierced.
Out of His side, limbs and shredded flesh blood was running, forming the perfect sacrifice, because this Man was – and is – without any blemish or sin. He is God. His name is Jesus.
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)
No matter what the monkey on your shoulder says, Jesus has not closed the door on you. In the silence of your heart, where nobody else can hear, you can talk to Him. And if you’re not sure how to do that, we are willing to give you some advice.
Just hit the contact button on the upper right of this page. We are here.