It’s Everywhere

I live in North Texas, a region known for football, fantastic tex-mex…. and hot summers!  It is nearly October and yes, we hit 100 on the thermostat yesterday.  The truth is, this heat is everywhere.  You can’t go for a walk, you can’t play golf, you can’t enjoy a cigar on your patio without encountering this pervasive heat.  If you try to pretend like it doesn’t bother you, you will cave in eventually.  It affects everything you do.

I’d suggest that sin is a lot like that.  In the beginning, God created us, in His image, to live like His Son.  But tragically, Adam disobeyed God (we all would have done the same thing if we were in his place) and sin entered the world, spreading like a virus.  Just like the heat in Texas, it affects everything.

Frustrated by the people at work?  There’s probably some sin behind that issue. 

Feeling empty inside when you lonely weekend starts?  Likely a symptom of sin’s place in our world. 

Having a hard time making things work with your spouse?  Sin’s presence can make this feel like toil on a daily basis.

I’m not suggesting that the reader of this blog is personally sinning to cause all these unhappy events.  I am saying that sin’s presence in our world is destructive and pervasive.

Jesus believed in bringing relief to the people.  He said in Matthew’s Gospel that he “came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”  People who pretend that sin is not everywhere cannot be helped by God.  God can only help people who realize the reality of the situation and want it to improve.

At Trinity Church, we are trying to create spaces of relief like that.  That’s why we say Courage Happens in Community.  When you have a community that loves you and is committed to living God’s way, you have a place that feels safe, protected, normal.  The Gospel gives us the power to have spaces not corrupted by sin, but instead marked by new life and creativity.

If you are ready to help create something good and beautiful, join us at Trinity Church.  We believe that God wants all of life to be this way and we are looking for people just like you to help us do that.

Fr. Gavin Pate

Photo by Zoltan Tasi on Unsplash