Wholeness

2 Timothy 2:1-7 (NRSV) Share in suffering You then, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus; and what you have heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others as well. Share in suffering like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving in the army gets entangled in everyday affairs; the soldier's aim is to please the enlisting officer. And in the case of an athlete, no one is crowned without competing according to the rules. It is the farmer who does the work who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in all thing I've been reading a lot of Richard Rohr and Brian McLaren lately, as well as just finished reading Nadia Bolz-Weber's memoir, Pastrix.  And while they all might say it differently, what comes always through loud and clear is that there is no path to "salvation" except through suffering and pain.  There is no resurrection without the cross.  There is no wholeness without first going through division.  There is no spring without winter.  You don't fathom the magnificence of the light without experiencing darkness. In the same way that you can't get to a finish line without running the race or reap your crops without the toil that goes into it, you don't ultimately get "saved" without first going through the valley of the shadow.  There's no way around it. This is not, I truly believe, a passage claiming "do the work, get the prize" or work's righteousness.  Instead it is a truth that is much more profound than that.  It is that pain, brokenness, suffering, harsh conditions, and death are true.  They are a reality we can't get around.  But without them, we'd not be able to experience that salvation of grace. This isn't salvation simply meaning "getting to go to heaven."  This is salvation meaning experiencing the fullness of life that only grace can bring.  It means wholeness both now and not yet. Gracious God: When the valley of the shadow comes, you are with me.  Prepare for those times, and walk with me during the valleys, and let me be ever mindful of those who need me to walk with them.  Amen.