God Is A Radical

Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God...
But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied...
But woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry.
Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh...
But woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.
Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil... woe to you, when all people speak well of you.

I know that God is a God of reversals. God is a radical who always challenges the status quo. When I'm in pain, God comforts me; when I'm comfortable, God unsettles me. And God's big enough to do both at the same time.

At moments when I'm missing Sam so much it hurts, God is there to assure me that love transcends geographical barriers. Whenever I feel like I've got life all figured out, God is there to pull the rug out from under my feet.

The times when I feel like a worthless waste of space, God says, “You matter.” The times when I feel like I am doing everything right, God says, “Oh, honey, are you freakin' kidding me?”

I believe in reversal. I believe in a radical overhaul of our broken, unjust reality. I believe that one day the world will be changed, justice will win, and love will reign supreme.

Whenever that vision seems impossibly far-off and utopian, God reminds me that it's inevitable. And whenever its inevitability seems like an excuse for me to do nothing, God kicks my butt into gear – because, really, striving to overturn injustice and make the world a better place is more or less the point of being human.