In the small town where I grew up, there was a husband and wife who lived outside of town. In fact, they were members of my home congregation. They were displaced persons from eastern Europe who fled their homeland during the rise of Communism following World War II, and they eventually settled in the Midwest. They were very industrious people, besides being active and faithful disciples of the Lord Jesus. One of the side jobs they had was braiding rag rugs. People, my mother included, would bring them old garments, which the couple would then cut into strips, skillfully braiding these into beautiful and useful rugs. What was always interesting to me was looking at the underside of the rug, and then comparing it with the rug’s upper side (the side that faced up). The underside of the rug often looked like a jumble of random strips and colors, with no apparent pattern that pulled everything together. In contrast with this was the rug’s upper side, which revealed beautiful and intricate patterns that this couple was able to pull together out of all those random strips and colors of discarded cloth.

There’s something for us to learn here. In this life, we often see only the “underside of the rug.” There may seem to be only random occurrences and events with nothing that pulls everything together. We long to see that beautiful “upper side of the rug” which makes sense of the many “strips and colors” of life. This is the promise of our Lenten Lord, who endured the cross for our sake, giving his very life as payment for our sins. He is the One who says, “Behold, I make all things new” (Revelation 21:5). He is the One who is ready, willing, and able to pull everything together for his love’s sake, not only in this life, but for all eternity.

Both on the individual level, as well as the collective level, it can be hard to see how everything fits together in life. It can be a challenge to see an overall pattern of something that is beautiful to behold. As we mark the one-year milestone of life with COVID-19, what have we learned? What has changed? And is that change for better or for worse? Although we usually cannot choose what happens to us in life, we can choose how we will respond to what happens to us. Paul the apostle closes out his first letter to believers in the city of Thessalonica with these words: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). Note that Paul says give thanks in all circumstances; he doesn’t say give thanks for all circumstances. There is a difference. Can we give thanks amid life’s circumstances that are painful or unpleasant? Can we give thanks when all we see is that jumbled underside of life? Faith looks beyond what is seen to what is unseen (Hebrews 11:1). We look beyond Lent to Easter; beyond crucifixion to resurrection; beyond death to eternal life.  We trust that the Lord who has begun this good work of saving faith in us will bring it to completion in the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6).

That beautiful “upper side of the rug” is being revealed in each of our lives slowly but surely. The “big reveal” won’t come until that great and final day when Jesus is fully and finally revealed as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Until then, we walk by faith trusting that the common thread which pulls all the pieces together is God’s redeeming love made known in Jesus Christ. It is in Jesus that we know God is for us, not against us (Roman 8:31). Hardship and loss, suffering and grief, pain and heartache are no match for our God! We worship and serve a God who has taken the “big gulp” and who has swallowed up death forever (Isaiah 25:7-8). That is what we celebrate every Sunday, but especially on Easter Sunday, the Resurrection of Our Lord. Join us for a special outdoor worship service on Easter Sunday, April 4, at 9:30AM on the westside property of our church campus. Bring your camp chair from home and appropriate shoes/boots for walking outside.

Jesus invites us to turn over the tattered rags of our lives to him so that he may, by his amazing grace, skillfully weave them into a beautiful tapestry for his glory and praise.