Colossians 3:9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds. New King James Version
It was another crazy weeknight at our house. I received a frantic phone call from a new friend, but a good friend. On the other end, I could hear an argument escalating as though she wasn’t on the phone. Shocking things were said, and the line disconnected.
I immediately told my husband that our friends, a married couple, needed our help. My husband rushed to their home as I made sure our two teenagers had things under control for their sisters. I wasn’t far behind him. When we reached their house, we found ourselves in the position of marriage counselor. Our friends have three beautiful children under the age of five. Sadly, they don’t have a lot of outside help. It’s no surprise that the lack of support leads to exhaustion. Exhaustion takes a brutal toll on their marriage. They reached out to us in a time of need with a spirit of boldness and urgency.
We stayed up late hours on this night trying to ease a fire between this couple. Eventually, peace was made. Everything about this phone call and visit made me think of our direct throne to God. Our new friends called on us because we have been in their shoes. We allowed sin and hardheartedness to end our previous marriages in divorce, but we continue to advocate for all marriages to thrive.
Despite the ugliness of our past, we were the community they could call on. The Bible teaches us to be bold and to be truthful about our situations and our struggles. Jesus wants us to be authentic with each other, leaning on our circle for wisdom and to help us out the troubles we can often get ourselves into.
I wondered how God feels when we come to him with our most horrific sins, our most gruesome failures, and all of the things we feel we can’t move past. God welcomes our transparency as we did with our friends that night. We must have arms wide open in order to receive his grace.. May all of us find a circle of believers with whom we no longer have to hide. May all of us bring our ugly to Jesus so that he can wash it white as the snow.