Effects of War

Every day I go to the NY Times website just to catch up on the news. It's a good place (and free!) to get a glimpse at what's going on around the globe and in our own country.

Today I ran across this photo slideshow of the damage done in the Israli-Gaza war. It is a good reminder that there are NO good sides to war. There is always damage and in my opinion, war is never a 100% good thing. I find myself again drawn to the love of Jesus for ALL people, not just the people who are on the good side of things...for the Muslim AND the Jew...for the Iraqi AND the American.

As we see the destruction of war and the suffering it brings, let us be reminded of Paul's words in Galatians 3:28..."There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female, for you are ALL ONE in Christ Jesus." Therefore, let us suffer with our fellow man as they suffer in war. Let us not be ignorant of their plight, even though our culture or political system defines them as the enemy. If nothing else, may we be reminded that Jesus loves them as deeply as He loves us.

Colossians Pt. 5: Living in Community

"For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross."

Colossians 1: 19-20

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Jesus makes peace. Jesus sets us free. Jesus is the embodiment of all mystery (power) in human flesh. Jesus is it. There's nothing more and nothing less. To embrace Jesus is to embrace the supremecy of Christ over all the powers. To embrace Jesus is to embrace his ideology and to let His ideology expose the ideologies of the world (that we talked about in the last post). We've got to take everything to Jesus and to His cross. What I mean is that we've got to take a hard look at our lives and see how we've bought into the mysteries (powers) of this world over and above the mystery (power) of Christ. That means there's a lot that needs to change.

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1:28 - "We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me."

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Paul's entire life (post Damascus Road) was given to the proclamation of the mystery of Christ (2:2). I want to encourage you to see your mission as that of Paul. Paul hears of the potential of this group of Christians being led to something other than Christ, and he pens these words. All around us there is a world that is building itself on that which is unsustainable. Anything not built on Christ is not sustainable. It is time you and I are challenged in the way we think and live and live not as captivated by the powers of this world and begin to proclaim in our ACTIONS and MINDS (the reversal of 1:21) the mystery of Christ. What he writes in 2:2 should be our call. How can you make the following your call and challenge?...

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"My (your) purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by find-sounding arguments."

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How can you and I live this way? What in how you do and think needs to change so this is your purpose as well? How does Christ want to set you free from your dependance on the mysteries of this world and into the freedom of the mystery found in Christ?

Colossians Pt. 4: Loosening the Grip

When we live as part of the powers of the world we live in a way that alienates us from Christ. I love Paul's words here - "Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds...because of your evil behavior" (1: 21). We were enemies in how we thought because of what we did. When we live lives that are consumed with our sense of self our mental orientation focuses first on ourselves...not on Christ...not on others. Why and how does this happen?

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Have you ever thought about how much you've bought into the normality of the world's systems? I'm taking heavily here from a great little book entitled, Colossians Remixed. We are all in school. Our teachers are advertisers and manufacturers of the goods we consume. We are taught to be consumers. We are taught that enough is never enough. We are bred to want the next thing without being satisfied with what we have. We are inundated with these things. These are the things that really lead us into bondage...bondage to stuff and into a false ideology that makes us think we need what we don't need.

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Current trends allow us to be connected without ever being connected. We communicate without ever seeing people or hearing their voices (Facebook, texts, e-mails, twitter). In regards to consumption, we consume good without ever meeting the people in the process - those who work in slave labor to make our goods - those who loose jobs because their quality product has been undersold by a cheaper manufacturer. We have the blessing of sensing security in our own country without thinking of the great insecurity our brothers and sisters around the world face in violent or impoverished situations. We are insulated. This insulation leads us toward a lack of connection with others. A lack of having to empathize. We don't have to think about how our lifestyle and what we're being taught to do and think and believe actually hurt other people. But this is the sad truth of what happens when we just take in life centered around us. We are alienated from God and the emphasis on ourselves alienates us from others.