The Bible is not a moral codebook. It is the messy, complicated, ongoing story of God’s people. And yes, it’s full of failure. More importantly, it is the story of God’s relentless, unceasing love in the face of all those failures.  Again and again, God—shrewd and compassionate—calls us home. Even, and especially, when we don’t deserve it.

Mercy and grace are not abstract ideas. They are embodied in vulnerable acts of humility and courage. They are practiced when we risk relationship instead of retreating into division. They are revealed when we lay aside loyalty to ideology and choose instead the way of Christ.

Our expectations can serve us, and they can also get us into trouble. When they serve us, they motivate us. They give us clarity about what we want, help us set goals, and keep us focused. Expectations reflect what we believe and value. When they grow out of positive beliefs, they help us persevere in hard times and set healthy boundaries that protect us.

We are all daughters and sons of Abraham even if we do not resemble one another in health and wholeness or skin color or nationality.  Each of us—every single one—is a beloved child of God, worthy of love, care, and liberation.

I’ve learned so much from your guidance and leadership, and what I’ve learned from you—and from everyone here atAscension—will guide me in the days to come. And I take comfort in knowing the Lord remains near to all of us now and in the days ahead.

If your heart is hurting, maybe it’s time to reexamine the treasure you are holding—a fool’s gold is fear, and it will never afford you the possibility and potential of a faithful life in Christ. That life is one in which we discover hope and grow in love—not because we are assured of the outcomes, but because, like Abraham, we trust in God’s promises.  We trust in faith.

When we give of our time and of our treasure to help others we are truly living into God’s call to serve the least of these and I see so much of that here at Ascension. Whether in scouting, in New Beginnings, in our feeding ministries in our efforts to be better neighbors we are giving from our abundance rather than storing up and that is something truly worth exchanging for a day in our lives.

The beauty of memorizing the Lord’s Prayer is not that itallows us to recite it faster or participate more often in worship. The beauty is that memorization frees us—to be more open to God’s voice and responsive to His desire for deep relationship with us. That deep relationship is what wewere made for, and it is what we are constantly being called back into.

I believe God is rooted in compassion.  And because of that compassion, our starting point is that we are beloved children of God—each and every one of us. That includes Jan and Marcia, Martha and Mary. And it includes you and me.And if our starting point with God is our belovedness, then our starting point with one another can only be rooted in that deep compassion.

Will we be the ones who cross to the other side to preserve our comfort or identity?  Or will we draw near, take a risk, love?  Because to follow Jesus is not just to admire the Good Samaritan—it is to become one.  Not for the sake of a nation, but for the sake of the kingdom of God.