WEEKLY PURSUIT with Ryan

Helping you pursue God, people, and purpose - one step at a time.

Hey friend,

This week’s Weekly Pursuit is based loosely on the message I shared at my dad’s celebration of life.

I titled it, “Life’s Not Fair.”

And honestly, that phrase has been running through my mind a lot over the last 22 months.

Brain cancer is not fair.
Watching someone you love suffer is not fair.
Having hard conversations you never wanted to have is not fair.
Saying goodbye before you feel ready is not fair.

There were plenty of moments where I thought, this isn’t fair.

And I still think that.

But somewhere along the way, God started shifting my perspective.

Not because the pain disappeared.
Not because grief suddenly became easy.
Not because cancer started making sense.

But because I started realizing that if I was going to talk about what wasn’t fair, I also had to be honest about what else wasn’t fair.

1. It wasn’t fair that I got him as my dad

It wasn’t fair that I got a dad who loved me the way he did.

It wasn’t fair that I had a dad who coached me, challenged me, encouraged me, showed up for me, laughed with me, prayed for me, and believed in me.

It wasn’t fair that I got a dad who was also a mentor, leader, coach, friend, and hero.

Not everybody gets that.

And I did.

That doesn’t make the grief lighter, but it does make the gratitude deeper.

Because grief and gratitude can live in the same room.

I can hate the cancer and still be thankful for the years.
I can miss him deeply and still celebrate what God gave me through him.
I can say, “This hurts,” and also say, “I was blessed.”

Sometimes perspective doesn’t erase the pain. It just helps us see the gift more clearly.

And my dad was a gift.

2. The Gospel isn’t fair either

As I’ve thought about the unfairness of life, I keep coming back to the unfairness of the Gospel.

Because the Gospel is not fair.

It wasn’t fair that Jesus, who had no sin, took on the weight of ours.
It wasn’t fair that the innocent One was crucified for the guilty.
It wasn’t fair that grace was offered to people who could never earn it, deserve it, or repay it.
It wasn’t fair that death did not get the final word.

But I’m really thankful it didn’t.

Because if the Gospel was fair, I’d be in trouble.

But the Gospel is not about fairness.

It is about grace.

It is about Jesus stepping into our brokenness, our sin, our grief, our pain, and our death - and bringing resurrection life where we never could have produced it on our own.

That is the hope I’m holding onto.

Not a shallow hope.
Not a cliché hope.
Not a hope that pretends this doesn’t hurt.

A real hope.

A hope that says death is real, but Jesus is greater.
Grief is real, but resurrection is coming.
Pain is real, but grace is deeper.
Life may not be fair, but God is still good.

Weekly Resources

Celebration of Life (Video) I'd love if you watched and shared the celebration of my dad's life. He was such an incredible leader and I believe that he would've loved his celebration. Available on Youtube

Thanksgiving All Kinds of Prayer | Week 4 This week, we wrapped up our All Kinds of Prayer series with a message on gratitude and thanksgiving from our former pastoral resident and guest speaker, Pastor Dylan Miller. Available on Youtube

Held at GunPoint In Iran — David Nasser — Mature Me Ep 93 David grew up in Iran during political unrest, watching his father be taken at gunpoint and learning at a young age what fear, loss, and displacement feel like. But everything changed when he encountered Jesus. Watch Here

I don’t know what feels unfair in your life right now.

Maybe it’s grief.
Maybe it’s disappointment.
Maybe it’s something you prayed would change by now.
Maybe it’s a situation you never would have chosen.

I won’t pretend to have easy answers.

But I do believe this:

God can meet us in the unfair places.

He can form gratitude in the middle of grief.
He can give purpose in the middle of pain.
He can bring hope in the middle of heartbreak.

And because of Jesus, the unfairness of life does not get the final word.

Grace does.

Keep pursuing God.
Keep pursuing people.
Keep pursuing purpose.

Praying,
Ryan