Dusty Paths to Glory IV

Walking down the dusty road. We’ve traveled so long in the same direction. Weary feet scuff. Get snagged in potholes. Tread the same ruts. Dusty.

Sometimes the dust has penetrated so far.

Dust is all we see. Dust is all we breathe. Dust has crept into the heart.

Dust shapes our life story—the bitterness, selfishness, sin, pride, shame, lying, gossip, malice, addiction, relationship patterns, whatever it be.

Overarching our dusty trail is the grand map, God’s big story: Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration. The story of a God who made a man from dust and crowned him with glory—creation. The story of a man who rejected God for a fruit of the dust, and returned to dust—Fall. The story of a God beyond the glory of the Milky Way who stepped down into our dusty world, taking on our dust so that we could be crowned once again with glory—Redemption. The story of a God who will refine and renew and recreate the dusty world to be a golden glory world with all creation glowing in glory and singing his praise—Restoration.

This is God’s story—but we have all crafted our own story just as we chose the fruit of the dust instead of him. Each of us have a creation/identity, fall/problem, redemption/solution, restoration/hope story.

SAUL

“And Saul said, ‘When I saw that the people were scattering from me…So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.” 1 Samuel 13:11-12

Then he said, “I have sinned; yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may bow before the Lord your God.” 1 Samuel 15:30

And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.” 1 Samuel 17:33

Creation/Identity: “I’m king over the people. A leader who needs the favor of the people. People give me worth, pride, value. I’m strong, handsome, popular.”

Fall/Problem: “There are threats to my standing! Every circumstance—do they like me? The people were scattering, the strong man Goliath threatened—my very identity, my favor with the people, what I love is at stake.”

Redemption/Solution: “God helps those who help themselves! God wasn’t coming on time and the people were scattering—I had to do something. I can take things into my own hands to maintain the good of Israel, and, [clears his throat], my good too. The favor of people will bring peace to my heart and peace to the land.”  

Restoration/Hope: “What is my hope? What would the best life be? Assured favor of man.”

And to this broken story God speaks a better gospel—the news of a man who was rejected by his own to the point of crucifixion so that we might be assured of the love of a God who is the only judge. Fixed on his love, we know we need not fear man!

MIGRANT WORKER

Creation/Identity: “Impoverished. That is what I am, who I am. Poverty defines me. Desperation. No hope, no life, no future in poverty. I have seen it stalk my family, drive my mother to despair, work my father to the grave, take my brother from sickness, kill my sister from hunger.”

Fall/Problem: “?El problema? Poverty. Poverty of opportunity, poverty of money. Inequality. The gringos have money. They have opportunity. They hoard. They have. I have not.”

Redemption/Solution: “So this is what I will do. I will take the dangerous trek to cross the border legally or illegally. Solution—money, jobs, American dream.”

Restoration/Hope: “Mi esperanza, my hope, is to have material success. Join the American dream. To have security, to escape the suffering of poverty through money.”

And into this broken story God speaks of a greater God than money, of a greater security than money. The fleeting joys of money will not buy happiness nor an eternal joy and eternal life. But Christ, though rich, gave it all. He left his country of glory not for a better dream, but to become poor, to become homeless, so that this migrant worker might know the riches of God.

ANOTHER MIGRANT WORKER

Each of us have our own stories, no matter how similar our dusty paths may appear.

Creation/Identity: “Soy mi familia, I am my family. We are together, for each other. I am sister, mother, wife, daughter.”  

Fall/Problem: “Mi Dios! My God, my family is in need. My mother has cancer and there is no medicine. My father worked himself to death. My young siblings do not have enough food or schooling. There is no chance for my family. My young son cries from colic and I cannot do anything. My milk dries from poor nutrition. Mi problema—my family is in need. I love; my heart is sick.”

Redemption/Solution: “Whatever, whatever it takes to help my family. I will leave my precious children with my sister and I will go to find work. Whatever, I will provide for my family. I will do the dangerous trek, I will work long hours, so I can send every penny I can back to my family.”

Restoration/Hope: “Oh, mi Dios! If I can provide for my family, if I can make enough to give them food and maybe they can join me here. Maybe I can get papers and get them here with me. We can be together, well provided for.”

And into her broken story, God reminds her of a Father’s love who sent his own Son so that she could be adopted into a family, she could be secure in the Father’s love by the Son. Her own love for her family is but a small echo of his great love. She can trust him to provide as she seeks to honor him, and in all her suffering, he will be with her. He entered into the suffering wrought by the world’s unjust systems and he bore the shame, pain, and suffering. Now, part of a family, brothers and sisters in Christ who are more rich, who have been provided for, are called to reach out to her and welcome her, help care for her family, help give her the opportunities.

House moms, businessmen, aunts and uncles, presidents, janitors, alcoholics, geniuses, we all have our own stories, but there is a story of God for each. If we:

1. Understand the other’s story (creation, fall, redemption, restoration); then we can

2. Lovingly see the gaps and shortcomings of their own desires and story; and then finally we can

3. Show how Christ fulfills their story.

Christ is the true solution to their identity and fall. He is the one in which they will find redemption. He is the one in which their deepest hopes will be fulfilled. Non-Christians find the dust of the world creep into their hearts and cloud their vision. Christians get into ruts and the dusty trails of this world keep their eyes choked from the glory above. We all slip out of our Christian stories, and this simple way of engaging (understand, see the gaps, and show Christ) can help our steps slowly gain ground towards glory! This engagement goes deep—engages worldview issues, deep identities, deep issues.

God—my powerful God, deep enough to wipe the dust from the deepest parts, the parts we cry out, have no hope. He bends down, wipes it, walks with us in our dusty treks, and he will begin the good work he began in us. The dusty Carpenter, the author and pioneer of our faith in our dusty pilgrimage to glory. The Son awaits.

NOTE

Thank you to Jeff Vanderstelt of Soma, Tim Keller’s Center Church, and Curtis Chang’s Engaging Unbelief for some of these thoughts.