It Was The Best Of Times, It Was The Worst Of Times

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us..."
            Sound familiar?  Don't tell me, "Yeah, it's the beginning of A Tale Of Two Cities".  Know-it-all.  As I reflect back on the last year, I feel this quote sums it up well.  Not just in my own life or the life of The Crossing Church, but perhaps also the world as a whole. 
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times
            We've witnessed the worst of times displayed in the works of evil like ISIS.  We've also witnessed the best of times in the response around the world to help the refugees who are the result of the works of ISIS.  Thanks to all of you at TCC who participated in giving to help the refugees in Europe.  Let me know what more you think we can do to love both our enemies and their victims.
it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness
            One glance at your Facebook feed should be enough to remind you that we live in both the age of wisdom and of foolishness.  Facebook posts are the new bumper sticker.  We post and share brief statements that give people a glimpse into who we are.  The same way we used to with bumper stickers.  And somehow we thought that bumper sticker of a menacing boy peeing on a Chevy symbol would impress.  Well, with people often only receiving bytes of information about us on social media, you'd think we'd be pickier about what we share.  Would I want any of those Facebook memes stuck to the back of my car?  Yikes.  Still, if you search for it, you'll also find much wisdom being shared out there.  But you do need to search a little. 
it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity
            We are well-divided by our beliefs these days.  Christians, Muslims, Conservatives, Progressives, Pentecostals, Presbyterians, as well as those who start Christmas celebrations before Thanksgiving and those who wait until after.  Our beliefs tend to place us in little groups or "tribes".  Now, having a group or tribe that we most identify with is just fine.  The problem lately has been that those tribes haven't been playing nicely in the sandbox together.  I don't know if my awareness is just increased or if hostility has indeed increased.  But many are polarizing themselves into little hostile camps.  You'll either agree with me on this or not.  If not, you can join the "we disagree with Dave" Facebook group and share some hate memes about me. 
it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness
            Just like the new Star Wars movie, while the Force awakens, so does the Dark Side.  While Christians desire light, we also must endure the surrounding darkness.  While there is much darkness around us, keep in mind that Jesus, the Light of the World, arrived during a time of great darkness.  It really made Him stick out of the crowd.  This is a great time to be light in the world.  I encourage us to focus on what it means to be light and spend less time focusing on just how dark the darkness is these days. 
it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair
            Pretty much sums up 2015 for me.  Lol. 
we had everything before us, we had nothing before us
            And that's what comes to mind when I look at a salad bar.  Okay, okay.  I'll say something more meaningful than that.  What is it to have everything before us, yet nothing before us?  At TCC, we do have everything before us.  We have new ministries to start.  We have children that need to hear about Jesus.  We have people to serve in our community.  We have young men and women that desperately need someone to walk with them.  We have a hurting community that need the Good News we cleave to.  We have babies on the way.  We have leaders emerging.  We have Jesus!  It's also possible to take our eyes off of these wonderful hopes and focus instead on the "nothing" before us.  I won't entertain a list of those possibilities at this time lest it distract from the hopes I just listed.  I choose to focus on the "everything before us", which btw, includes Jesus.  Did I already mention that?  We have Jesus!!! 
Happy New Year to you. 

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