"So, whether your house burns down or your spouse leaves or your children rebel or you have cancer—there is one thing you can count on...
For the sake of Christ, God has loved you with an everlasting love. He is your Father and He knows your sorrow and counts your tears.
He chose you before the foundation of the world, to live this life, with these people, in this very specific circumstance.
Your hurt is not lost on Him.
He cares for you so much that He suffered every conceivable temptation to rescue you from your shackles.
He will use every heartache in your life to bring you joy in Him.
He will make every piece of the puzzle make sense.
He is not waiting for you to obey or be strong or be faithful.
He has obeyed and been strong and faithful in your place.
And He offers this all to you freely, for the sake of Christ, because that is the reason why He came.
He is the Rock on which your life is built and you need not worry when you see the walls all fall down around you.
In Christ, they will be built again, with the true and sure Cornerstone of His body and blood.
He will make life from death.
Hope from ruin.
Beauty from ashes."
********************************************
Reformation Day commemorates Dr. Martin Luther's posting of his Ninety-Five Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany on October 31, 1517. This act triggered the movement in world history known as the Reformation. As Brennan Manning states in his book, Ragamuffin Gospel, "Today we remember that Christianity at the core is not primarily a moral code but a grace filled journey; it is not essentially a philosophy of love, but a love affair; it is not keeping rules with clenched fists but receiving a gift with open hands."
