Fallen and Free

Father, we are a fallen race.

We are sinners saved by grace.

Our world can go two ways–

the path of peace or war.

We possess the promise of being people filled with love;

we can allow hatred and the judgment of others to take hold.

Lord, help us in these perilous times to rise to our better selves.

There are people’s rights being trampled upon by a system that feels cold and callous.

I have heard the stories of many of them.

I listened as they told me about the injustices done to them.

I can feel Your disappointment that while we have the capacity to be better people,

there are those who justify their cruelty.

They say it is for the greater good to wear down people until

they have no hope- no strength to advocate for themselves.

They die first in spirit and then physical death.

The Darwinian principle of survival of the fittest is still believed by many.

Do you remember during the worst of CoVid there were people saying it was the responsibility of the elderly and the infirm to die, many of whom ended up in intensive care? Why? For the good of society’s bottom line.

Jesus wouldn’t have dealt with the weak and sick this way.

He would have loved and helped them get better.

Christ would have walked with them through their suffering.

Part of our fallenness is when we are deceived into believing that allowing who aren’t healthy to die is morally right.

Christ showed by the way He dealt with people that all life was precious.

He never disposed people.

Jesus didn’t treat them like they were fourth-class citizens.

He encouraged them that they were valuable members of society.

They had a purpose to their lives.

Father, there are people being dragged down into despair.

They wonder, “Does anyone care?”

They may ask You, “Have You abandoned me in my time of greatest need?”
I too have been there.

I have known in my mind that You never leave or forsake us,

but there have been times when I could see only my circumstances.

You took me to the very edge of belief before I felt relief.

You taught me that faith is trusting what you don’t see.

It’s feeling that You will guide us through the challenges to the other side.

In the noise of life in You we can abide.

You give us peace in the storm.

In the rising tide of the darkness of others towards us, we can believe we will be drowned.

In those trying times remind us that Your one and only Son shed His blood on the cross, so we would not be lost.

Father, You offer us the gift of our forever liberty —

the present of heavenly eternity.

God, I feel Your tears at our inhumanity towards one another.

When we should be loving our sister, our brother, there is

a seething rage many unleash.

When we should be doing all we can to be there for others,

we can get mired in the muck and mire at the state of our lives.

We lose sight of others who are struggling.

Father, we cry out to You, we are depleted by how CoVid has changed our lives.

Many of us have less energy to reach out to others.

We want to care, but as we try to get through the sludge of our lives, there is nothing left for those You call us to love.

Your Word says to not think about things that are below, but on that which is above.

We can fail to see the flowers.

Our focus can be on the weeds.

When we do that our hope is eroded.

There is little to give of ourselves to those who are bereft.

On the last birthday of a dear friend before he died, I saw in his eyes a distance,

as if to say, “Lord, I don’t understand this world anymore.

Please let me leave this disabled body wracked with pain.

I’ll sing a new song of Your love with an eternal refrain.

I’m tired of being stuck in this wheelchair.

I can’t endure being treated like garbage because I have disabilities and declining chronic conditions.

I long to dance with You in Heaven where all earthly things have passed away.

There will be no more night.

I will bask in Your healing sunlight.”

Father, I pray we will have compassion for those who are rejected.

Show us how to love them.

Give us the voice to speak up for those who are worn–

people who should be lifted up, but are cast down.

Remind us when we forget, that we are called to love everyone.

Jesus died for the fallen so they would no longer live in darkness.

Lord, we are sinful, but we praise You that we are also free.
May we never forget the price that was paid for our liberty–

the death of Christ on the cross–

how He was willing to die for our sins–

the hope we have that the resurrected Christ is no longer dead.

The grave could not hold our Savior!

This truth can change our behavior if we believe and are willing to receive it.

Father, if we repent of our sin we can have peace within —

a new life in us can begin.

You leave the choice with us the future our world will have.

Will it be one where we care about those struggling to survive?

Will we choose to ignore those You send our way?

Will we try to convince ourselves that’s okay?

Father, show us how to share Your love with those You bring into our lives.

Give us who are fallen and free open hearts to teach others what it means to treat everyone equally.

Dr. Kevin Osborne is a Vice-President for Student Affairs for St. James the Elder University. Dr. Osborne is a doctor of theology candidate through SJTEU. He is s therapist, writer, poet, and singer. He helps people in their inner healing journey. Dr. Osborne lives in Timmins, northern Ontario, Canada, with his wife, Karen. She is the Registrar for SJTEU. Karen has a B.A. in Clinical Christian Counseling from St. James the Elder University. Karen is a writer, editor, and missionary of the heart.