Your comments about Rick and Kay’s interview are still resonating. I’m thinking of the countless people who struggle with mental illness and how they must have been encouraged by what they saw.
At the risk of overstating it, I want to point out that what is evident in this interview is nothing short of “the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.” Indeed it is Paul who wrote, “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us” (2 Corinthians 4:6-7).
What you see when you watch Kay and Rick in this interview is the power of God made evident in jars of clay. Their grief and brokenness is evidence of the fragility of this “jar of clay” our spirits are all housed in, but their hope and buoyancy is the evidence of the glory of Christ that shines in and through our human condition anyway, and what is unique about this is that the camera caught it.
We so often block this process in our own lives by always presenting our best foot forward and by not telling the whole truth about our situation. In this instance, the devastation of the real experience they went through blew the cover off Rick and Kay’s best attempt to mask the pain, grief, doubt and fear that their experience forced to the surface. But it is in this very context where the power and presence of Christ is most visible. It was so tangible in this interview, you felt like you could touch it.
We all can take heart in this, because this is where we all qualify to be instruments of God’s grace in the world. We all qualify by the pain in our own lives — by the limitations of our humanity — to show forth, in the midst of that, “the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.” It’s in all who believe. It is in this way that you and I show forth Christ to the world.
Isn’t it ironic that in all of Rick’s successes in the world as author of a book that sold over 35 million copies, pastor of a megachurch and evangelical celebrity, that it is in this tragedy that the power of Christ is most real and most evident?
That’s why we can all do this. True celebrity is the glory of Christ in our lives showing through our broken humanity.
John Fischer The Catch 
Beautifully said… last sentence – WOW!!! I pray this is how we live our lives….
the last two devotionals were inspiring to me personally I currently have a deep friendship with someone who suffers greatly with mental illness and at times it takes all of gods grace to deal with her issues and today I feel empowered to be more fruitful as a result of seeing the interview and reading the devotionals bless you jon and marti you are very special people
I have a simular situation as Ricks. It is only through God’s grace and mercy that we get through these things. One thing I do want to say is that no amount of truely being open can ever explain the pain and struggle that goes on in a parents life as the result of seeing your son or daughter struggle with mental illness. They don’t carry a crutch or reside in a wheelchair. Sometimes it feel better if they did. Then there would be something physical to attach to.As it is you deal with judgement and unhelpful suggestions from well meaning people to the point where you just want to shut down and live with it. I am so proud of Rick and his wife. God bless them in their pain.
A friend recently told me, “We do what we are.” I would have to modify that to say, “We do what we think we are.”
We’re concerned with what we do. God is concerned with what (who) we are in Christ. We spend our lives, doing, doing, doing, hoping to somehow make a difference. God wants us to spend our lives being, being, being because, in the end, that is how people see Christ.
Who we are in Christ never changes. What we do changes as our perception of who we are changes. God always sees the perfect image of Christ in us. If we will focus on what He’s focused on, our actions will change and, maybe, we really will make a difference.
I like this series of articles, not because of the Warrens and the video of them, but because of the truths you are touching on. Thanks for your faithfulness.
“We so often block this process in our own lives by always presenting our best foot forward and by not telling the whole truth about our situation.”—
I see this too much in the church and I’m confused…Isn’t the church to be made up of the broken, grace-fill people and not seen as a museum of ‘perfect’ people? I think of Casting Crowns song Masquerade. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzKOrlPuWzo
I want to see Real Faith and Raw emotions, not phony, pious people. I saw that with Rick and Kay and John I see it in your writings, thank you!
i luv this and felt a need to add an Amen to it: “True celebrity is the glory of Christ in our lives showing through our broken humanity.”
Great information as always, I have missed the catch due to not having Internet access for awhile. I would like to be included again daily. Thank you
like to “say” welcome back Cynthia Cody… 🙂
After watching the Piers Morgan interview with Rick and Kay Warren all I can say John your comments are spot on. A number of years ago in my city a little girl died at age 8 or so by going down a slide in her back yard, and getting her scarf caught so that it acted as a noose. Her mother found her dead. The little girl was a Christ follower. The parents had noticed that, and found her faith to be an incredible blessing in their family dynamics. The Edmonton Journal did an article on the story. The reporter was a Christ follower and was allowed to let God shine through this story. The story was tragic, but the message was powerful and the gospel was presented in the Edmonton, Alberta, Canada area at a gut wrenching level we can all relate to. It was a message of hope.
Rick and Kay’s message is the same. How many hearts have turned to Christ because of this story we will never know. It is an incredible message of hope! It takes a death to spread the gospel. Death is the common denominator for all of us. We can all relate to it. We will all die. To lose a child, whether human or a God man it carries the same incredible pain but also the same joy.
Piers Morgan appeared on Donald Trump’s the apprentice. He attacked all his fellow apprentices about anything he could imagine. He was especially critical of believers in God. His achilles heel was his family. Fellow apprentices finally attacked his family. It was his achilles heel. My point is that he is probably the most sympathetic interviewer out there because his family is everything to him. He even got an incredible dose of the gospel in its rawest emotional form. What a witness this was……God is awesome!