It was a busy weekend for some subsets of American society.

If you’re a college football fan, you likely watched Miami and Indiana win their playoff games (Indiana “looks like it will never lose again,” according to one of my favorite sports commentators). If you’re a pro football fan (as many seem to be these days), you had five games to watch, including the Bears’ comeback for the ages Saturday night, with one more contest tonight. If you’re a movie and TV fan, you likely watched the Golden Globes last night, where One Battle After Another and Hamnet won their categories.

If you’re none of the above, you’re wondering if you should keep reading this morning.

I understand the question. While I watched every football game I mentioned, I have not seen even one of the movies or TV shows for which Golden Globes were awarded. As a result, I am avoiding reviews of last night’s ceremony this morning. Time is too short to spend it on what is irrelevant to me today.

This fact is more relevant to our souls than many people seem to know.

The “container” and its “contents”

The Franciscan priest Richard Rohr begins Falling Upward, his meditation on the spiritual life, this way:

There is much evidence on several levels that there are at least two major tasks to human life. The first task is to build a strong “container” or identity; the second is to find the contents that the container was meant to hold.

In this first “task,” we ask the essential questions, “What makes me significant?”, “How can I support myself?”, and “Who will go with me?” However, the “container” these questions help to define “is not an end in itself, but exists for the sake of our deeper and fuller life, which we largely do not know about ourselves.”

When we focus on the “container” but not the “contents,” over time, we inevitably resign ourselves to lives without meaning, or we fixate on means as ends and commit ourselves to aims unworthy of our divine purpose. But when we learn to focus on the purpose for which our lives are intended in what Rohr calls the “second half of life,” several positive consequences occur:

We have less and less need or interest in eliminating the negative or fearful, making again these old rash judgments, holding onto old hurts, or feeling any need to punish other people. Our superiority complexes have gradually departed in all directions. We do not fight these things anymore; they have just shown themselves too many times to be useless, ego-based, counterproductive, and often entirely wrong.

So, what is the purpose for which our lives and our time are best spent?

“When we know whose we are”

I learned recently that I am a direct descendant of two of the passengers on the Mayflower voyage to the New World in 1620. In fact, my great-grandfather (times ten) was apparently the last of these passengers to die.

In the moment I learned this about myself, I viscerally felt myself to be a person of greater historical significance. It was as though I became the child of a celebrity and thus a celebrity myself. Absolutely nothing tangible changed about my life: I didn’t suddenly become richer or wiser. But knowing whose I am, in this context, enhanced my sense of who I am.

Br. Geoffrey Tristam of the Society of St. John the Evangelist in Boston claims that my impulse is more foundational and empowering than I thought: “When we know whose we are, we know who we are.” He points to Jesus’ baptism, commemorated yesterday by many Christian traditions, at which the Father proclaimed, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17).

Then he notes that Jesus’ subsequent temptations were “precisely about doubting and denying his true identity.” The first two began, “If you are the Son of God . . .” (Matthew 4:3, 5). The third similarly tempted Jesus to abandon his identity as God’s Son and worship Satan instead (v. 9).

According to Tristam, “It is only after he has gone through this inner struggle that he could emerge and begin his public ministry.” Through the rest of that ministry, Jesus never wavered from his identity as his Father’s Son. He sought his Father’s glory, prayed for his blessing, chose his will over his own, committed his spirit to him in death, returned to him in Paradise, and intercedes at his right hand today.

Now he wants to help us embrace his identity as our own.

From “son of thunder” to “apostle of love”

As you know, when we trust in Christ as our Lord, we become “children of God” (John 1:12). Now our Father wants his children to become like his Son.

As Paul explained, “The Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like [Christ] as we are changed into his glorious image” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NLT). God’s purpose is to “sanctify you completely” so that “your whole spirit and soul and body [will] be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

However, we separate clergy from laity and thus believe (though we might not say it in words) that true godliness is for the professionals. This makes sense in other realms: professional golfers and musicians perform in ways we cannot, and so on.

But Jesus wants his entire church to be “holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:27). Our Father’s goal is that every one of us be “guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:8).

Why?

God’s purpose in making us like Christ is not just that we experience the “abundant” life he intends for us (John 10:10). It is also that we become catalysts for restoring humanity to him, salt and light in a decaying and dark world, witnesses whose words and works are so compelling that multitudes are drawn to him.

The Spirit transformed a fearful fisherman into a fearless evangelist (Acts 2). He made the church’s greatest persecutor into its greatest evangelist, missionary, and theologian (cf. 1 Timothy 1:15–16). He turned a “son of thunder” (Mark 3:17) into the “apostle of love” (cf. 1 John 4:7–12).

And people changed by Jesus into the character of Jesus changed the world. They still do.

For what purpose will you spend your time and life? With what “contents” will you fill your “container”? How will you express your identity as God’s child?

God’s Spirit will make us as much like God’s Son as we choose to be.

How much like Jesus do you want to be today?

Quote for the day:

“Sanctification means being made one with Jesus so that the disposition that ruled him will rule us. It will cost everything that is not of God in us.” —Oswald Chambers

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While the circumstances surrounding the shooting of Renee Nicole Good on Wednesday are complicated and none of the narratives that came out shortly after the story went viral are entirely accurate, the basic truth is that she would still be alive if anyone involved had chosen to de-escalate the situation.

Why it matters: The speed at which officials from President Trump and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to Governor Waltz and Mayor Frey felt the need to get their version of events out to the public meant that many people made up their minds on what happened before all the details were known. However, the truth of the situation is that there is plenty of blame to go around, and unless people take the time to learn from those mistakes, it’s far too likely to happen again.

The backstory: What happened on Wednesday?

On Wednesday afternoon, three Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers approached a vehicle blocking their way in a neighborhood in Minneapolis, Minnesota. There are conflicting reports about what happened next, but here’s what we know so far:

• Some witnesses claim that the officers told the driver—37-year-old Renee Nicole Good—to exit the vehicle, while others say they told her to leave. Audio from the recordings—at least three videos quickly went viral—seems to indicate that she may have received different instructions from the different officers. Whatever those instructions may have been, the result was tragic.
• Good put her car in reverse while agents attempted to open her door, then she turned the wheel and tried to drive away while a third officer was standing in front of her SUV. He had originally been on the opposite side of the vehicle from the other officers, but had begun to circle around as they approached.
• Whether Good was attempting to hit him or steer around him is difficult to tell from the video. Either way, the vehicle appears to make some contact with him—though not enough to knock him down—as he drew his gun and fired three times, killing Good.

The story quickly took over social media, and President Trump, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz all released statements offering conflicting explanations within hours of the shooting.

Noem said the woman committed an act of “domestic terrorism” by disobeying the officers’ commands and then weaponized her SUV in an attempt to “run a law enforcement officer over.” President Trump echoed that understanding, saying Good was “a professional agitator” who “violently, willfully and viciously ran over the ICE officer.” He then added, “Based on the attached clip, it is hard to believe he is alive, but is now recovering in the hospital.”

Conversely, Frey claimed that “This was a federal agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying,” before telling ICE, “We do not want you here. Your stated purpose for being in this City is to create some kind of safety, but you are doing exactly the opposite.” Walz said much the same, arguing that “We do not need any further help from the federal government,” before issuing a “warning order” to prepare the Minnesota National Guard for deployment in case the shooting resulted in riots.

So which version of the story should we believe?

The officer’s past

In the time since the shooting took place, the narrative around what occurred has started to change from the version both sides put out in its immediate aftermath. The video clearly shows that the claims saying the officer who shot Good was lucky to be alive and did so to defend “his fellow officers,” as described in the DHS’s official statement, are overstated at best.

It’s entirely possible—and, perhaps, even probable—that the officer who pulled the trigger did fear for his life in that moment. And given that he was involved in a similar incident six months ago, where his taser proved ineffective, and he was dragged roughly 100 yards while trying to make a similar stop, it’s understandable that he would be so quick to pull his gun on Wednesday.

Vice President Vance pointed to that event, saying, “You think maybe he’s a little bit sensitive about someone ramming him with an automobile?”

But while the situations are similar, they are not the same, and the video clearly shows that his fellow officers were in no immediate danger by the time the car started to pull forward.

Good should still be alive

Ultimately, the officer’s actions may have been legal, but they also stemmed from a series of mistakes that had put him in that position to begin with. DHS officers are never supposed to stand in front of a vehicle or discharge their firearm at a moving vehicle unless they have “no other objectively reasonable means of defense.”

In both cases, Good’s death would have been avoided if the officer who shot her had taken the proper approach to the situation. That said, she would also be alive if she had simply heeded the officers’ warnings instead of attempting to drive away or had not chosen to interfere with ICE in the first place.

City leaders claim she was acting as “a legal observer” during a nearby ICE raid, though Noem stated that Good had been “stalking and impeding their work” by “blocking them in” and “shouting at them.” At this point, it’s difficult to know how much of Noem’s description is accurate, but Frey and Walz laying the blame entirely on the ICE officers also seems out of touch with the reality of the situation.

At the end of the day, this was a tragedy that could have been easily avoided if any of the principal actors had chosen a different approach. That’s not to say the blame should be assigned equally, but if anyone involved had been more interested in de-escalating the situation before it reached the point that a gun was drawn, then Good would still be alive. My prayer is that others heed that lesson before something like this happens again.

However, if I’m being honest, it’s a lesson I could stand to apply in my own life as well.

Spiritual application: Don’t be like David

While not every sin in my life is something I could see coming, far too many are the result of failing to heed the warning signs that the Holy Spirit threw in my way before I proceeded to step right over them. And I don’t think that problem is unique to me. Fortunately, God’s word has something to say on this subject.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told his followers:

If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better to lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. (Matthew 5:29–30)

This instruction was given originally in the context of combating lust, but the basic idea applies to sins of all kinds. The longer we allow sin to fester in our lives, the more the consequences of that sin will escalate and the harder it will be to stop.

While God is not calling us to literally maim ourselves—after all, even a blind or crippled person can be tempted—Jesus wanted to make sure we understood the importance of not letting sin linger. And lust is a perfect illustration of just how quickly sin can escalate from thought to action.

Take the story of David and Bathsheba, for example:

“It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful” (2 Samuel 11:2).

David’s sin was not noticing the woman; it was in persisting to look and dwelling on that beauty long after the first glance. Because he allowed that look to escalate into lust, he ended up taking her into his room, getting her pregnant, deceiving her husband, and then having the man carry his own death sentence back with him to the army David should have been leading.

Rarely are we able to see where our sins will lead if left unchecked. David did not plan on murdering an innocent man or essentially forcing himself on the beautiful woman he saw from his balcony. Yet, that’s precisely what happened because he attempted to manage his sin rather than stop it from escalating further.

While I hope your sins have not escalated to the precipice of sexual assault or murder, we all have areas of our lives where we’re especially prone to letting temptation fester.

So, take some time today to ask the Lord to help you identify any of those areas in your life. Then turn them over to him and take whatever measures are necessary to ensure that the temptation does not escalate into action.

God is ready to help. Are you ready to let him?

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God is good: “God’s mercy continues after the world burns”

It’s been just over a year since the first of the fires that eventually burned more than 37,000 acres and claimed thirty lives began to spread outside of Los Angeles. Yet, in that time, God has been moving in a powerful way. He has helped churches that have lost buildings and families who have lost homes learn that the church is more than just brick and mortar. As one pastor described, “God’s mercy continues after the world burns. That’s one lesson churches in Los Angeles learned this year.”

Kingdom impact:

While many of the churches lost to the fires will eventually be rebuilt, the opportunities to serve the communities of Los Angeles and to model what it means to trust God in the midst of tragedy will hopefully endure long after life has returned to some semblance of normal. Will you join me in praying that the churches in these neighborhoods will remain beacons of hope and stability for the communities in which God has placed them?

Christianity Today has more on the story.

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