You are sitting on a lumpy couch in a youth room (the only place where lumpy and ugly couches are actually welcomed…sort of). To be specific, you are sitting on a cushion that obviously belongs to a different couch that months prior has found it’s ultimate rest in the church dumpster (I can sense you nodding your head knowing exactly what I am talking about). Like that lone remaining cushion, you feel isolated among your friends, many of which you have gone to school with since kindergarten. The topic of conversation at hand is how we can pray for each other. You have rehearsed the moment of courage many times in your head (the person before your turn is taking their turn). You have told yourself that this time is going to be the time that you spill the beans (you notice that your friend across the circle from you got new shoes and you make a mental note to tell them how much you like them….focus, focus). This is going to be the time that you open up about your true struggles, fears, pain & doubts. When it comes your time to share…you find yourself fall in step with your previous requests…grandma’s surgery, the history test on Friday, salvation of a friend, and ironically enough, the boldness to share your faith. Yet again, you were able to keep your real self hidden from those around you. You head off to another week where you actually convince yourself that as long as God knows, that is enough. After all, he is the one that truly knows your heart.
Sadly, I think that this scene is played out in more than just youth rooms…it is an epidemic that has crossed generational gaps, genders and race. We have no problem with being honest with God, after all, as a follower of Christ we realize that we can hide nothing from God. We have found ourselves forced in a way to being honest with God and have managed to veil ourselves from our friends. We are Honest to God, but fooling our friends.
“God knows my heart”
True statement, but God never intended to be the only one who knows your heart (I know that sounds almost wrong, but hear me out). From the garden of Eden to present, we see all through out scripture the importance for us to not be alone or isolated. Adam realized this and God did as well. Eve was created to be more than just a physical partner. They were both created for each other to live, share, dream and after the fall, share their struggles together. I will not go into detail of others, but I challenge you to find one person in all of scripture where covering their struggles was good for them.
Yet we will still sit on that mismatched couch cushion holding on to our secrets that burden us down while hiding behind the empty comfort that since God knows my heart and intentions we will be fine. It is true that he knows your heart. He knows it better than you do. He alone is the one who truly knows your heart, but he wants our lives to be lived in community with others.
“Confess your sins to each other…share each others burdens”
“Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptations yourself. Share each others burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:1-2 NLT)
“Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” (James 5:16 NLT)
Verses like these are pretty straight-forward. They contain action points and results. “Share each others burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.” Hmm, that seems like a big deal. I don’t want to break the law of Christ. If confessing our sin to each other and praying for healing from that sin produces “wonderful results.” Get me in on that! Neither of these verses can be realized by ourselves. They call for vulnerability, trust, humility and….yes, other people to see your dirty laundry.
When we admit that we are broken
There is freedom in brokenness. We no longer have to keep up an image that we (and God) know is false. We no longer have to fear the unknown. Yes, the unknown of worrying how your friends will respond to you openly sharing your struggles is daunting, but knowing the truth that no temptation in our lives is isolated to us (1 Corinthians 10:13) offers comfort and should embolden us with courage.
You are sitting on a lumpy couch. Clothe yourself with the promises of God. After all, God knows your heart, and he want your friends to know it too.
-D
Write Down the Middle 