The Horrors of the Cloud
“Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
It bothers me to witness kids growing up faster than they should, but that is necessary in the world we live in today. Why, because it is so easy to slap your name on anything, and nothing ever gets lost in the cloud. You put up a Facebook joke on your site, and 15 years later, it is considered “inappropriate,” and you will be living it down the rest of your life. Let’s not even talk about some mistake, like getting a DUI or shoplifting.
All children, and especially adolescents, make mistakes. I bet even you made a mistake or two. I don’t want to hear them, unless they would make a good, embarrassing sermon illustration. If so, then send to (scott@westpres.org/desperateForFunnySermonStories (just joking). Otherwise, your mistakes should be private, something you learn from, not for YouTube to celebrate with thousands of views.
People, especially church people, sometimes act like “good Christians” have never sinned. Too often, shame is the response to a person’s mistake. Now, with the advent of the almighty digital cloud, mistakes and shame never go away. An unending digital memory makes God’s grace even more vital for us to share. The season of Advent offers time to appreciate God’s coming as a vulnerable child and to live grace-filled amid our human struggles.
We are children of God. Let me rephrase. We are imperfect children of a perfect God. If our perfect God is willing to offer grace and forgive our mistakes, then why is it so much harder for us sinners to find forgiveness from others and within ourselves? How do we care for our children when forgiveness is getting almost impossible? Today, please contemplate how we offer grace to a world unwilling or unable to forgive. When we recognize how difficult our situation is becoming, grace becomes even more desirable. Grace is our hope in these frightening times.
