Letters in the sand…

“The only words Jesus wrote were in the sand.”

(Glennon Doyle)

Note: Just to be clear here, I often use words like “we” and “us” simply because I’m so often referring to myself or a not-so-long-ago version of myself. Obviously there’s overlap, but my goal here is to be honest and transparent as I/we journey into this thing we call life. 

I’m sure we’ve all heard this in one way or another, that Jesus never wrote a book or organized some 7-step strategic plan for success…but I think as I heard these words today on a podcast they just sank a bit deeper this time. 

“The only words Jesus ever wrote were in the sand.”

And yet thousands upon thousands upon thousands of words AND books have been written about the words that someone else wrote about what Jesus said and did. 

Huh…

Even when we talk about “eye witness accounts”…these were not written down like we are able to today. They didn’t just pull out their iPhones and start recording videos of Jesus or even typing out his words in Microsoft Office…No, they wrote it down on papyrus type material which you didn’t buy in cases at Costco!

So why didn’t Jesus write anything down…at least that we know of?  

Maybe because words can be distorted, misinterpreted, abused, twisted, and vilified. 

Maybe, just maybe, Jesus was more about being than doing; that his presence among us were his written words…that he dwelt among us, the word made flesh. 

For thousands of years followers of “The Way” have been arguing over words, definitions, interpretations…but what if much of that was just a clanging cymbal, nattering, ego, and fear of losing control?

What if, instead of creating more denominations because of doctrinal differences, we let our lived out values determine our commitment to “The Way.”

Oh, yes, I know…but what about “them” or “those people” or whoever…yeah, what about them?  What if we decided that loving others was our metric for being connected to the divine, regardless of how one might articulate that with words?  Less Pantheism and more Panentheism I suppose. 

Do we honestly believe that if someone doesn’t say the exact certain words while still breathing earthly air then they are not “in” God’s flow of redemptive love?  

What if we simply let our lives be the barometer of our faith, and not a strict set of words and phrases and books and doctrines?  

I cannot overstate how many people I’ve interacted with over these past few  years who would likely fit into the “Done” category who simply want to get on with living in love but feel held back by the church!  Let that sink in for a moment…many who are “Deconstructing” are not leaving the church because they don’t want to follow in the ways of Jesus…they are leaving so they can!!!

To talk about those who have left the church as if they’ve lost or left their faith is unfortunately one of the greatest examples of missing the point, and quite possibly exposes the pride and fear which any organization can stumble into over time. At least, I know this was so true for me when I would watch people leave the church and as leaders we would even sometimes mock or gossip about them…I did that, and I am not proud to admit it, but it needs to be said. 

I used to think that a departure from the local church was synonymous with losing ones faith or connection to the divine. The most common verbiage to articulate that argument is that one is no longer a “member” of the body by doing so.  And somehow when two or three are gathered it’s just not as “church” as one that owns a building and has membership classes?  

The only words Jesus wrote were in the sand…can we allow that simplicity to give us enough pause to step back from our biases and habitual comfort levels and be honest about what’s happening, specifically with the exodus of the “Nones & Dones”?

Peace Friends :-)