So I’m new to this whole Blog dealio but here goes. Just a
warning this isn’t a sit down and read blog, if you are feeling safe after
reading this, let me know, I am hoping to challenge those of you that are
reading this as I have been recently challenged by who I am assuming has been
God.
I have a
radical idea and am unsure if it is stupid or remarkable. AS people of Christ
we are supposed to forgive those who trespass against us. Which is tough enough
to do with a living people that wrong us, But what would it look like if
forgiveness extended and surpassed humans and extended to Demons and Satan
Himself and to forgive him. And whether or not he accepts the forgiveness love
is being extended even to the “Unlovable of Unlovables” But Is this thought of mine just a silly
fantasy or a radical reality?
So then
what does this mean for us? I hate Bad theology with a passion, and I really
hope that this idea of forgiveness isn’t one of those bad theology instances.
When people Talk about “Safe Jesus” or when they think that Church on Sunday is
enough, or that because they have Christian radio on it is enough or that they
occasionally open up their Bible it is nice. BUT IT ISN’T!!!! Jesus isn’t safe
he is dangerous and Risky and wants us to be challenged. And if you think that
you have brownie points with God because you do some of the above things. If
you aren’t laughing with people, and
crying with people and loving with people, and rejoicing with people and living
with people, I honestly think you have it wrong. If you think that Life is
safe, that it is all about jolly good fun and feel good music and Mega churches,
there is so much more to learn
Example: I
work at a gas station in Bowling Green
Ohio
Change is
coming whether or not we lead the charge, or we wait for someone else to charge
ahead of us. The time is coming where we will bring joy in place of tears,
olive oil in place of sadness, and will rescue the captives. (Isaiah 64 check it out it is awesome the prophecy
that Isaiah predicts is coming soon!!!) The time for us to live with people and
love with people is NOW!!! But will you allow God to change your life and to
lead this change in your life? Will you answer the call and live and laugh and
cry and LOVE with people? Will you allow God to help you go out of your comfort
zone, be challenged, and meet people where they are?
Just some thoughts, about my struggle and what I hope I can
change or allow God to change using me. After all anything that happens is
thanks to God and not on our own.
This is awesome, Cory. I love seeing your heart. It's beautiful! Gosh darn. Go do stuff, man. Be empowered! May God's grace be with you. I hope that he shows favor to you: that you will be able to accomplish so much for His Kingdom every day. I pray that you will be like a stable mountain that people will just flock to because you are a lover of souls and a mirror of God's grace, truth, and compassion. I pray that God will grant you knowledge, wisdom, understanding, and discernment. Be blessed!
ReplyDeleteOh captain my captain,
ReplyDeleteHow you struggles with theology, setting out on its ruff sees with but a distant start to guide you. How you enter into the storms of life full speed ahead. How you struggle against the tides of society and the winds of time. Ho it is a joy to see your ship come through the storm, a light for others on their way. A beacon to follow.
And yet, you have not come through unscathed. I can see the scars on your deck, and the tears in your sail.
Now let me speak freely for a time in hopes that it will cause you to rethink some Ideas and should you choose to enter into dialogue with me I welcome it, for I know I most certainly are no great authority either. But let me now challenge a few ideas you proclaim above.
The first is this question of whether the devil should be saved? This is, frankly, a topic best left untouched. We know through faith that any human, even Hitler, yet the devil is not human. This causes a great dived in theology. In fact the devil dose not appear until the new testament and may not even be spoken of as a being of essence…there is great discussion that has been add to devil and sin in theology. But it really is all pointless. We do know we are never to condemn. That is made clear and should be upheld, although often forgotten. We also know that one way to salvation is through Jesus Christ (no condemning). We know that through the love of Jesus we are saved and can find this confirmed all over Romans and 1st Corinthians. What we see though in these text and the others is not a place to judge other but to work towards our own salvation through love and to share the word of that salvation. The core of the teaching is to focus on your own works, better or worse, to strive to be better and through that (your works being a sign) and your sharing of information you may guide people towards there own discovery. But never are we to condemned any even the devil (which I know you don’t and am not saying you do). However because of this a discussion about anyone's salvation but your own, if not for the sole purpose of reaching a better nature together, is pointless.
The other problem I would like to pull out with your writing above is your distinction between the world and god. Specifically the idea that Jesus is Risky. I would hold, and you may choose to disagree, that there is nothing safer then Jesus and having faith in Jesus. Love is safe, it is warm, it is reliable, and what is Jesus without love. Jesus is safe. Living is risky. Life is filled with problems and concerns, trepidations and worries…Life is what makes it unsafe. Now living in the love of Jesus is indeed harder then other lifes we could choose, and can be, often is, more risky in this world. Or so it seems.
ReplyDeleteLife is hard, just going to church or anything else you listed is not enough. You need live in the love of Christ at all times. That is what you are called to do. And most fail. That is life. And yet if nothing you do matters, all that matters is what you do. You will fail along the way, you will have times when you do not live in the love of Christ, when you do not live up to your calling…and that is why we call it grace. It is hard and risky in this world, but it is not because of Jesus, because of God’s love, but because the world is harsh. And that is not about to change. It is living in that love of Christ that allows you to live…as you state about your self, with a slight change, most people live, and you did. However few live in God, and you have and will again…
One last point I wish to make that may be the most important and differ from you the most. Change is not coming it is here. It is here everyday. You look to Isaiah 64 and see great change, but you loose the mission. Change is all around us. Change, the change that we are called to do, is to talk with those around us. It is to be supportive in times of need. It is to be a friend, and a smile on the street. A beacon and hope. It is to live in love and allow that to spread out through us so that we may change the world, not through the great acts of saving the poor or making the earth quake, but through the small tasks that change the people around us…we are not, and can not drastically change the world. But we start it shifting towards a drastic change. We can start those around us shifting towards a stronger life in love. I look at Romans 15:1-6 and know that I am accomplishing my mission, simply by saying hello to those around me and letting them know I am there for them. It is small, it little, it barley changes the world, and yet is of the great significance.
I have read your next blog but have decided that I shall take 24 hrs to think about each one before responding, or I will try to. There are a few more things that I wish to speak to but I see them brought out in the next blog and so will allow my response there to take them up.
Oh captain my captain,
Continue on your journey, across the rough seas of life. Go in the wake of some and ahead of others. Fix the ship and full speed ahead. You are moving fast, and faster still will your winds become.