Finding Words in the Complexity of Life
I titled this reflection Finding Words in the Complexity of Life, but as I began to write, the truth became clear. I am not sure I have the words yet.
Like many parents, I am trying to figure out what to say to my children as they watch the news and overhear conversations among peers and adults. They ask questions that do not have simple answers. I find myself wanting to explain things clearly and help make sense of a world that feels anything but clear.
And honestly, I do not have answers.
What I do have are two Scriptures that are shaping me in this season. These Scriptures do not give me concrete solutions. They do not tell me exactly what to say, how to fix what is broken, or how to make sense of every headline. But they have given me, and I hope maybe you, something just as important. They remind me of God’s values. They remind me of the character God seeks to shape in our lives.
The prophet Micah reminds us of the way God calls us to live:
“He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?” - (Micah 6:8)
Micah does not promise clarity. He offers a way of being. It is a posture shaped by justice, grounded in kindness, and rooted in humility before God.
Isaiah speaks with the same urgency, calling us not only to belief, but to transformation:
“Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes;
cease to do evil, learn to do good;
seek justice, rescue the oppressed,
defend the orphan, plead for the widow.” - (Isaiah 1:16–17)
Isaiah does not give us easy answers either. He calls us to turn away from evil, to stop doing harm, and to learn what it means to do good. He calls us to notice suffering, to protect the vulnerable, and to refuse to look away when life is diminished.
These words do not resolve the complexity of this moment in history, but they can form us within it. They remind us that faith is not first about certainty, but about who we are becoming. This is especially true when we do not know what to say and when we are trying to guide our children through a world that feels uncertain.
I find myself wondering and praying about how I can humbly walk with God in these days. How can I do justice and love kindness, while trusting God’s Spirit to keep guiding me forward, even when the path is not clear?
Maybe that is where finding words begins. Not with answers, but by allowing God’s Word to form us in the midst of the complexity.
With Gratitude,
Rev. Rodney Whitfield
Senior Pastor
Aldersgate UMC