When reality comes at you like a jumbo jet and uses your face as a landing field ... it's kind of hard to miss it. I wonder if this is why we are sometimes prone to living like the proverbial ostrich with our head stuck in the sand. There are certainly times when this way of dealing with life seems easier. No confrontations. No accountability. No responsibility for holding anyone accountable. No messy stuff. Preferring to see things the way we'd like them to be rather than the way they are. Living oblivious to life sounds tempting at times, but it's not real. It's not truthful. It's not safe.
Reality must be met head on. Life must be lived with our eyes open and our ears in tune to what is going on around us. And we must love. We must forgive. Seeing the unbelievable and the undesirable. Hearing the hurtful and regretful. Recognizing our own faults and being willing to accept that we are all faulty.
The dictionary says disenchantment and disillusion result when we see the harshness of everyday reality. But when we fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, he is our great delight. The reality we face might affect us, but it doesn't need to destroy us. And we must forgive. We must love.
There is a genuine-ness to love that is expected of us. Romans 12:9 says, "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good." Somehow we find a balance between opening our eyes to truth and choosing to love. Often truth is ugly. It reveals information we would rather not know or have known about us. But we gain very little by ignoring truth in order to escape unpleasantness. To be sure, we are not given the freedom to pronounce judgment and dole out vengeance in the name of truth. Walking in the Spirit allows our love to be genuine. Galatians 5 tells us the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. The Spirit led life permits us to live and worship in truth amid the harsh realities of life.
Jesus doesn't love us because he turns his head and lives oblivious to our sin. He loves. Period. He is able to know the deep inner secrets of our lives and, in spite of how unpleasant that may be, he loves us anyway.
We should not be afraid of facing the realities of life or avoid truth in order to remain unshaken. Life is hard. We are sinful people. But we can walk in truth and love if we allow the Holy Spirit to do his work in our lives. Walking in the Spirit becomes a much more fulfilling and safe place to live rather than with our heads in the sand.
