Have you ever felt like you’re in a perpetual state of “in between”? For example, we can be in between seasons, in between in our views on certain issues, in between sizes, in between feelings. There’s even a fun country song on the radio these days about the in between.
Lately, I’ve felt very in between, but mostly in between really big extremes. We seem to live in a world of extremes. Our culture loves to push us to the edge and when we live somewhere in the middle feel it’s easy to feel hung out to dry, misunderstood and confused.
Sure, I know we’re quickly approaching an election, but this is an all the time thing. Sadly, I don’t think it’s going to “just get better” on its own.
But there’s hope. The only thing we need to be extreme about is Jesus. Notice I didn’t say religion. I mean really being like Jesus. We should be radical in the ways that make us more like Him. Speaking truth in love, sharing the gospel with all, hanging out with those in different social circles to further the kingdom, and creating a culture of unity around TRUTH as the Church. We might not be liked and we might be called names. Our job is to put Christ over culture.
We live in a world where acceptance and approval have become synonyms. Jesus taught differently. He loved and accepted all, but he certainly didn’t approve of all. He spent time right there in the middle. He didn’t aim to cancel or condemn, but to build and restore.
What in the world do we do with all of these feelings and all this pressure? We take it to Jesus. We invite the Holy Spirit. We ask daily for more of Him and less flesh as we navigate this world that we don’t belong to while aiming to raise our children to be spiritual leaders in the next generation.
May we remove feelings and emotions and search for truth. I’m choosing to push aside the chatter and the opinions and instead reflect on God’s ultimate truth. His Word is always true.
As we sit here in the in between may we grow stronger, more hopeful, more bold, and in deeper relationship with Him.
-Emily