“Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again.”
Yeah, right.
There’s been no shortage of ink spilled, thoughts spent, and lectures given over the course of the pandemic on how we can all be more “resilient.”
That’s all fine and good. I’ve needed those reminders and insights from time to time.
But let’s flip the script for a moment, shall we? Let’s reverse the directional arrow so that resilience, rather than something we conjure up in order to keep moving forward, is more fundamentally something that moves toward us and is freely available, something that we can encounter without condition, a path to be drawn into and even empowered by.
Ah, but what sort of resilience might this be? Well, it’s the stubborn, insistent, tenacious resilience of God’s kingdom come in the person of Jesus the Christ. It’s the resilience of God incarnate, of light that keeps overcoming darkness, of joy in the morning following a night of weeping. It’s the resilience of a kingdom rushing toward you, toward me, toward the whole world in love. It’s persistent, persevering, in pursuit, fueled by the power of God’s Holy Spirit. Take hold of it, for this kingdom has no end! It is never down for the count, never hopelessly stuck, never without resurrection. Always resilient.
7 Lift up your heads, O gates!
and be lifted up, O ancient doors!
that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is the King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord, mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, O gates!
and be lifted up, O ancient doors!
that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
he is the King of glory. (Ps 24)
It’s just a *slightly* more empowering and joyful way of saying, “Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again,” isn’t it?
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