Today's headlines aren't about hopelessness but about an invitation

​Every morning when I get up I open up one of my newspaper applications on my phone and quickly scan the morning headlines. I don't know why I do it. Maybe I'm hoping one morning the headlines will miraculously pivot to a more hopeful narrative?

If so, that hope didn't come with this morning's headlines.

This isn't something new I'm facing. For thousands of years people have been waking up reading headlines that paint a picture of war and hate and division.

I'm always fascinated by the reality that the day came when God got tired of reading our headlines. He grew weary from waiting on us to create more hopeful headlines. And so, as Bob Goff put it this morning, God decided to paint himself into our lives.

When Jesus came to earth, he was well aware of our headlines. He knew they were ugly and hateful and that they told stories of people treating one another very unlike they way we were created to treat one another.

Here's the thing, though. Jesus didn't show up and start writing new headlines. He didn't show up and have the first big "come to Jesus" meeting where he called everyone to him to give them the business about how they'd been living. No - Jesus showed up and started marching town to town into our headlines showing people love where the headlines said there was nothing but hate.

There wasn't one morning Jesus woke up hoping for a new headline. He woke up every morning reading headlines that said the world needed more Jesus - more love. So he kept on delivering it.

There's a popular Christian song out right now written by Chris Tomlin and others. Yesterday I heard these words and they struck me:

You're amazing, faithful, love's open door, When I'm empty You fill me with hunger for more, Of Your mercy, Your goodnessLord, You're the air that I breathe, That's who You are to me Who You are to me

I was reminded with these words that Jesus not only wrote himself into the world's headlines - he wrote himself into my headlines.

I was reminded that some days, when the headlines of my own life are telling me I'm empty and struggling and hopeless, that I need to just stop. I need to be still and breathe in - deeply breathe in. Breathe in and recognize God is in the air I breathe. With each breath, comes an invitation to walk through love's open door, to be filled with mercy and goodness.

With each breath, I'm being invited to re-write the headlines of my life.

With each breath, I'm being reminded that this morning's headlines aren't a reason for hopelessness, but an invitation for me to be loves open door in someone else's life.

Maybe one day we'll all breathe that same collective breath. On that day, maybe the headlines will paint a much more hopeful picture.