Legacy

I recently discovered the works of Rachel Held Evans. Unfortunately, the only reason why I came across her brilliant writings was because she was taken into glory far too young, at the age of 37, from complications due to brain seizures. In coming across this news, I was curious about who she was, and decided to visit her blog. I ended up with an Amazon Kindle cart filled with her bestsellers.

You guys! She wrote my heart.

Her journey away from, and back to, faith is a riveting read. Her Christ-centered, well-reasoned, and liberating interpretations of Scripture and of the tenets of Christianity are deliciously controversial and yet so satisfyingly affirming to me. The way that she writes invites me into her thought processes in a relatable way, and her progressive arguments warm my heart. They also mirror my own evolving, inclusive beliefs.

When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. - 1 Cor. 13:11, NLT

I am no Rachel Held Evans. My sentences don't suddenly flow into poetic prose, and my theology isn't informed by years of study in dispensationalism. However, I too have discovered that when I was younger (and shamefully, well into my thirties), my beliefs were rooted in dogma and in the antiquated (but not necessarily right) ideas presented by the Church. I bought in to what was preached without carefully studying and examining those teachings for their consistency with the Gospel and Jesus' life ministry. I failed to test those ideas, while simultaneously (and pridefully) looking down on others for lacking critical thought. I was a sheep, lost and wandering among other misguided sheep, and I followed without looking carefully. I'd like to think that God has been shaping me through life's lemony adventures, and where I am landing is a more Scripturally-sound place than where I began.

I'm still kind of a lost sheep, though, and I continue to wander in the wild led only by a very faint Shepherd's voice, which half the time I ignore and the other half of the time I can barely hear with my half-deaf ears. That said, I am encouraged that women like Rachel Held Evans are rising up and and leading a generation of Jesus-loving, people-loving believers into a new understanding of Scripture, one that does not alienate and divide "us" from "them," but seeks to include and empower, and sow love in keeping with our greatest commandments. 

God may have taken her home far too early for our preferences, but He has already worked in and through her to leave a legacy that will have a lasting impact, especially on Christian women and the LGBTQIA+ Christians in our world. I am buoyed by the next generation of Christians who are inspired and challenged by the likes of Rachel Held Evans. May there be many more like her in the decades to come!