There’s a song lyric from Jordan Rawson that’s been playing in my head the last few days:
So as we fall from grace
Remember darling we still bleed the same
(Bleed The Same, Jordan Rawson)
The juxtaposition here sits so raw for me. It lets me envision a dark, actively looming shadow underneath the depth of a person’s relationship, as if its bracing itself for unfavorable change.
We’ve got the idea of ‘bleeding the same’, which in other music and campaigning, flows from the theme of unity, more along the lines of rising up to a bigger occasion and purpose beyond our capacity and reach. But, in this case, the context surfaces both unraveling and disentanglement—moving on after carrying false hope for too long. Then, yet, Jordan’s use of the analogy ‘bleeding the same’, while reflecting on a decision to carry on without one another, subtly drops hints of doing it as a means of forgiveness.
If you’ve been reading along for a while, you might’ve picked up on slight hints that I’ve been learning a lot about forgiveness, among many other things, but particularly from the perspective of self.
Here are a few quick reads if you want to see more:
How do I become capable of forgiving? The answer I’ve come to has been the paradoxical marriage of God’s Truth and human emotion. Kind of like what’s written in the lyrics.
In the anticipation of parting ways, we find the foundation for forgiveness when we remember that we all ‘bleed the same’—holding onto the unwavering facts that we all sin, are made in God’s image, and have received the most selfless act of love on the cross. So, in the moments we do ‘fall from grace’—decide to let go of what we once clung to with everything we had, we’re not without hope.
Remembering our shared humanity can both foster unity while mending disunity.
It’s almost like God had a purpose behind forgiving our sins, showing how grace actively lives among us, after first dwelling within us.
The grace and forgiveness that’s outwardly expressed first begins with the Holy Spirit’s work in our hearts. Do we host Him? Or do we reject Him?
To live with the Holy Spirit is to surrender the rights to choosing how we “love”. I put that in quotations because, oftentimes, what we convince ourselves is love is actually loathing in disguise—a tainted love, which would then be rejecting the Holy Spirit’s desire to teach us how to receive His perfect, complete love through grace.
With that in mind, the security we feel in who He has created us to be gives us the confidence to become somebody who can extend grace and forgiveness without ever feeling like we’ve lost. This is how we reach the bridge to breakthrough as love becomes something worth protecting in His perfection, for our good, and His glory.
Drinks I’ve been loving
Instant espresso- after scraping by at home with Cafe Bustelo, I finally got a bottle of Nescafe Gold and it is SO GOOD for an instant powder. My lattes taste so much better.
Classic sweet tea, because why not?
Song of the week
Podcast of the week
Book of the week
Guys, I did it—I started another book
That Sounds Fun by Annie F. Downs—such a fun read and doesn’t take much time at all. She’s super conversational in her writing. In short summary, she emphasizes the importance of keeping your life exciting with hobbies and trying new things as a reminder that God didn’t design life to be all work and stress.