“The ground at the foot of the cross is level.
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I think our deepest human characteristic is that we want to be loved. We want to be a part of something and feel the emotional connection with those around us. Even deeper, unconditional love is the missing piece of our soul. The drop of the divine that God puts in each of us cries out for this and in many ways we refuse to believe that a being could or is willing to love us no matter the circumstances. However, there is hope.
Our lives are spent comparing ourselves to one another. It is not hard to see why so many are downcast and depressed in the world that we breathe in each day. As a result, we medicate. We medicate with anything that we can possibly get our hands on, whether that is social media, sports, games, work, school, actual medication, sin or staying busy all of the time. The problem is not necessarily that we choose to medicate, but rather that we choose the wrong thing.
Most of the things we choose to medicate with just add to the problem. There will always be someone that is having more fun than you that you see on social media. There will always be a better athlete or coworker or student. Medication numbs our reality. Sin dulls the emotions that God has placed inside of each of us and deepens the chasm between your circumstances and the true hope that lies just beside us. We choose these things because we want a quick fix and there is not always one available.
The truth is that we are all in pain. That person enjoying themselves that you see on social media is feeling those deep insecurities that you feel everyday. It is a part of our humanity, we just do not want to admit it. The face that we put on in the activities or chores that we excel in are just a facade to deflect the pain that lies in our lives. That is the beauty of the quote at the top of this page:
“The ground at the foot of the cross is level.”
Take that in. Let it run through the caverns of your soul. We can look around us and see who we think that we are better than or may be better than us, but all is level at the foot of the cross. We can look at ourselves with all of our dusty and dirty places, completely unveiled, and know that all is the same at the foot of the cross. We all have problems. Some of us may just be better at hiding it than others, which I do not think is a good thing. I do not think airing out your dirty laundry is needed, but living in a state of vulnerability should be a lifestyle that we embrace more often than not.
That little kid lies way down in your soul, that you are scared to let loose. In those moments when you are truly afraid, that cringe that you feel, I like to think that this is the deepest part of who we are. Once we reach that point, we are ready to be loved. I think God wants us to live in a complete trust that He will make all things okay in the mind of that little kid. All will be okay, because at the foot of the cross the ground is level. It is level, because the cross allows us to find hope, to find that missing piece that unlocks our true selves. It brings us out of fear and into the light of truth to bow down on level ground.