In 2020, we didn’t travel much. After months mostly at home, one day I looked in the mirror and asked myself, “Why am I shaving every day?” That’s when I decided to grow my pandemic beard.
A few months later, I had dinner with friends. One of them wore a beard. He brought me a gift. It was a bottle of beard oil. I had never heard of that. Having a beard was new to me. Then he began to explain the culture I had just joined: beard festivals, beard groups, even beard etiquette. My understanding of beards and the people who wore them grew that night.
When we’re new at something, we often need guidance. Mentors and guides help us navigate unfamiliar territory. Faith is no different.
In Luke 14, Jesus tells the parable of the great dinner. A rich man planned a feast and sent invitations to his peers. For various, almost trivial reasons, they declined. In that culture, refusing an invitation like this was a serious insult. Angered, the man instructed his servants to invite others. People who normally wouldn’t be invited: the outcasts, the poor, the socially overlooked.
It’s easy to imagine that these new invitees didn’t know how to respond. What was expected of them? How could they offer anything in return? Yet they accepted. One subtle detail of the story stands out to me. When the man first becomes angry, he tells his servant to go find new guests. The servant responds, “Sir, what you ordered has been done.”
He had already begun the work of reaching out and, perhaps, showing the new guests how to navigate this unfamiliar dinner. He offered direction to them and would lure more, helping those who were new to understand how to participate.
Just like a pandemic beard taught me about a whole new culture, our churches should be places filled with people who help one another flourish when we step into something new, especially something new like faith.
It's important to remember the infidelity of God's people in the Bible. God made covenant with them, but time and again they turned away from their part in that union. Repeatedly! It makes you wonder what we'd have left in the Bible if they didn't.
Time and time again, the people chose their way of living life over God's wisdom. Scripture also tells of the consequences of those choices. You get what you get when you turn from God. There's no blaming God for letting us face the consequences of our choices. That's on us.
And yet, time and time again God pursues God's beloved. In Jeremiah 3, for example, the Lord describes a vision of an adulterous people. They have taken "many lovers." Still, God says, "Return." To make sure they understood God knew exactly who they were, God says, "Return, faithless Israel."
No matter what it is or how accurately it describes you, the invitation from God remains the same: Return.
Return to God because the Lord isn't waiting for you to clean up yourself first. So, you don't have to either. God's love isn't reactive. Genuine love always creates deeper love. So, God loves you where you are in whatever condition you're in and makes you new. And if you have to return again tomorrow, God will make you new again.
Your mistakes, your distractions or your periods of doubt do not make you unlovable to God. God's mercy is always bigger than our failings. The return from faithlessness begins with a yes to God's invitation. Even small steps toward repentance and reconciliation matter, because God's desire is not punishment but healing and renewal. Remember that the next time you want to turn away. God is calling you home.
I recently began a new educational journey. It's something I’ve been considering for a while but only now had the chance to pursue. Several people have asked me how it’s going. Well, I'll answer that by asking you: Have you ever heard of imposter syndrome?
Reading the thoughtful reflections my colleagues are already sharing, I sometimes feel like I’m behind. Maybe even like I don’t really belong.
Do you know that feeling? Many of us do. We’ve all had moments where we felt unprepared, unqualified or unsure of ourselves. And when it comes to faith, we can have those same feelings.
That’s why I love how the letter of Hebrews ends. The entire letter is a call to renewed faith. And it ends with a powerful benediction that reminds us of God’s ongoing work in our lives through Christ. The prayer is that God would “make you complete.” The King James Version says “make you perfect,” but a better sense of the word means to be fully equipped. Made ready for every good work God desires. It’s not about flawless perfection here and now, but about being prepared with everything we need to live faithfully to God's call.
You may not feel ready. That’s okay. You might wonder "Who am I to do this thing for the Lord?" or "How can I live a life of holiness?" Remember, though, that God is the one who makes us complete. The Lord provides the tools, the wisdom and the grace for each step of the journey. God never calls us to a way of life and then leaves us unequipped to follow it.
So, trust what God is doing in you. Pay attention to how God is shaping and remolding your life. And remember you don’t have to live as an imposter. You are a beloved child of God, being made ready.
