Jamin Bradley

It rained again this week
Up, down and sideways it came
Making sure to soak
Every conceivable part of the ground

The yellow grass leftover from
From winter’s frigid grasp
Clears its dry and cracking throat 
To drink it in with one generous sip

It will see life again
For God has smiled on it with favor
As color begins to return
To its cold, pale face

Though it may have forgotten God
God had never forgotten it
Despite the fact that its life
Would be short-lived

One moment vibrant and long
And the next cut down by the mower
But still it’s short life cared for
By the clouds of the maker 

It rained again this week
The rain of a good God
Who doesn’t settle
For anything less than goodness

Indeed, he is the definition of goodness
And cannot and will not 
Settle for anything less than good
He wouldn’t even know how

I watched it fall out my window
A multifaceted delight to my senses
The smell of wet concrete 
The sound of the pitter-patter on my roof

Smell and hear that the Lord is good
For the flower beds of tomorrow
Lie in heaven’s blessings
The rain of life upon your doorstep

Though the clouds look gloomy
It is only because a good God is busy crying
For he sees your pain when you hurt
And he tears up in joy when he thinks of you

For he is a good God
And you are his good creation
And he is writing a good story for you
Where goodness becomes all you know
Indeed, it is his most favorite story to write

It rained again this week
And I don’t mean to complain
Because I know that love and grace
Looks like this

But if I were to make one complaint
If I were to have one reservation
It would be this:
The rain shows no partiality

I saw it with my own eyes
I am a witness to the rain’s indiscretion
It does not know how to pick and choose
Whose yard is worthy of it

I wish it would have asked
I keep a list on me at all times
And it would have done the rain some good
To know a few things

But that doesn’t seem to be the game it plays
It is no respecter of persons
It is not choosey with its grace
And I find that a bit offensive

Does it not know the houses that deserve it?
Is it not given instructions on where to land?
Does it not know the power that it has
To mark out the people of the earth?

I can tell it!
I can prophesy!
I can give rain this power!
For surely I know the judgments of God

I am a child of the King
I will one day judge angels
In me lies the fruit of the resurrection
Surely, my authority is higher than the rain

If heaven’s waters were to drop on my house first
I could give it instructions on where to go
I could inform it of the things people have done
Then maybe it’d think twice before it fell elsewhere

Imagine my city waking up to find
That the rain only falls on some houses and not others
Imagine the repentance that might take place
At a sign and a wonder as awesome as this

Imagine my enemies falling on my doorstep
Begging for forgiveness
Pleading for their own rain
Imagine the power I would hold

Of course, such might does not belong with me
And perhaps I see now why that is
“For though I would use this rain from a desire to do good
Through me, it would wield a power too great and terrible to imagine”

So I look to the one who has the power
And I acknowledge the system he made
It rains when he says so
And the skies shout, “drink up”

There are no other rules
It’s as simple as that
The just and the unjust
Receive the same portion

For God is good
Perhaps, too good?
For he loves those that I hate
And I don’t have a box for that

Every day the sun rises on the good and the wicked
While I pray for plagues of darkness
Hoping for Ra to meet his end
As he descends into the underworld

Though I know justice is coming
I desire it in the here and now
Though I know my God sees all things
I want him to recognize it here and now

The day of judgment is already 2000 years late
How long must my enemies get away with it?
How long must true justice go unrealized?
How long must I wait for redemption?

Rise up omniscient God and see my oppressors
Rise up omnipresent God expose the dark parts of the earth
Rise up omnipotent God and show your strength
Rise up, and do not delay

But then that gentle whisper:
“Jamin, darling”
If I am what you say
Then perhaps my so-called indiscriminate rain can be trusted

If I know all things
See all things
And have all power
Then is my rain not good?

Do you know the inner workings of your enemies?
Do you know the pains they have that need to be healed?
Do you wish a God upon them that starves them of their own crops?
Or the same God that is gentle with your wounds?

Do you desire a good God for all?
Or just a good God for you?
Do you prophesy with me?
Or apart from me?

If you desire a God void of love and grace
There is a long list to choose from
As you sew their fruit
You will receive their rotten reward

But if you are a child of the resurrection
And you want to bear the fruit of your Father
Then let the rain be a sign to you of my character
And humble yourself that you might be like the clouds

Pour out blessing on your enemies
Do something different than expected
I built this world for love
And you were designed to be a part of it

When you bear hatred in your heart
You depart from my system
You write a different story
And you despise the image of God

I do not only have hope for you
But for them, too
And if they do not change
They will be held to account

But you must yield yourself to my Spirit
You must begin to think like me
I cannot change the world
If you’re only converting the good

I cannot storm the gates of Hades
If you do not walk into them
I cannot reach those
Whom my body ignores

Would you like a heavenly reward?
The kind that I don’t give out easily?
Then love your enemies
And pray for those who persecute you

This will change your life
This will heal your heart
This will unbreak your spirit
This will make you a child of God

This is a greater discipline for sure
And how rare it is to see my children rise to the task
But what reward is it to love those who love you?
How much easier could it be than that?

My child, I welcome you into the refiner’s fire
A place that is not void of justice in the here and now
But it refuses to stand for hate
It resists it at all cost

For there is another god upon which hatred stands
And the beast and the lamb cannot be married
Remove yourself from blasphemy by fleeing from your hate
Stop fantasizing about the destruction of your enemy

Fight back, but fight with love
Find a heavenly aggression that baffles your enemy
When they slap you, turn the other cheek
When they sue you, give them more than they won
When they force you to labor, do more than they expect

Confuse the Hell out of them
Show them your God is good
By making goodness your aggression
Rain on them like I do

If I’m omniscient as you say
Then know that I will take note
Of your love for your haters
Trust me: it will pay off

It rained again this week
Up, down and sideways it came
Making sure to soak
Every conceivable part of the ground

It is good
God is good
And I’m learning how to be good too

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

-Matthew 5:43–48