Because of my faith in resurrection, the name of God then is not only Love, but it is a love for me and my world defined by compassion and understanding. Because of my belief in the resurrection, when I fail or when I feel as if I may succumb to defeat, I know that God understands how I feel and fills me with the strength to dust the dirt off my pants and get up and start again. When I am humiliated or persecuted for his sake and for the sake of the gospel, I know that God understands what I am going through and fills me with courage. When I am frozen by fear either by sickness or impending death, I know that God understands and fills me with both healing and hope. Life is difficult.
Love is difficult.
Growing up and growing into who we are and what God would have us become is not easy. I know it. You know it. What is perhaps more important thanks to a resurrection faith is God himself knows it. When I come to that kind of thinking, I am reminded of confronting a homeless woman who approached me in Washington, D.C. a few years ago outside the National Gallery of Art.