Then on the same day we find two of them going off to Emmaus, a village about seven miles from Jerusalem. As they went they were deep in conversation about everything that had happened. While they were absorbed in their serious talk and discussion, Jesus himself approached and walked along with them, but something prevented them from recognizing him. --Luke 24
The church has been blinded by its busyness and ambition. Our ears are deaf due to the ever-increasing noise of our technology driven lives. The church, like most people in western cultures, has a severe case of ADD; it is activity addicted. No one says anything because much of it is done in the name of Christianity, and if that is the case, then we find ourselves shrugging our shoulders and continuing on.
We are killing ourselves in the name of religion; and we think it’s ok. Just because we believe something is done in the name of God or Christianity doesn’t mean Jesus has anything to do with it. I thought we learned this hard lesson from the European exploration into the Central Americas in the 15th century when natives were forced to accept Christianity or be killed. Or the crusades at the turn of the first millennium where wars were fought and enough blood was mixed with the desert sand of the Middle East to make it look like Cherry Powder in a Lik-M-Stick. The ultimate example is Saul, who thought he was doing God a favor by persecuting all those who belonged to the Way; until Jesus met him one day on a dusty road to Damascu.
The church has been blinded by its busyness and ambition. Our ears are deaf due to the ever-increasing noise of our technology driven lives. The church, like most people in western cultures, has a severe case of ADD; it is activity addicted. No one says anything because much of it is done in the name of Christianity, and if that is the case, then we find ourselves shrugging our shoulders and continuing on.
We are killing ourselves in the name of religion; and we think it’s ok. Just because we believe something is done in the name of God or Christianity doesn’t mean Jesus has anything to do with it. I thought we learned this hard lesson from the European exploration into the Central Americas in the 15th century when natives were forced to accept Christianity or be killed. Or the crusades at the turn of the first millennium where wars were fought and enough blood was mixed with the desert sand of the Middle East to make it look like Cherry Powder in a Lik-M-Stick. The ultimate example is Saul, who thought he was doing God a favor by persecuting all those who belonged to the Way; until Jesus met him one day on a dusty road to Damascu.
Just because we throw a “God” stamp on it doesn’t mean Jesus is involved. Often times it’s simply our own agenda, driven by our ambition for greatness or to fill our insecurities about our own worth.
In college, I dated a girl for five months, three weeks, and two days. Everything seemed to be going phenomenally well; and I thanked God daily for hooking me up with such a quality girl; like an E-Harmony commercial. Until one night she called and asked to talk with me. She went on to tell me that God had told her not to date me anymore; that God wanted her to break up with me. Other than thinking it was 121% horse plop, what was I supposed to say? When you get the God-card played on you, there really is no response, because the ultimate say in all matters is what God decides to do. I told her I thought God told me that we were supposed to get married. She was possessed with an evil spirit. This was my conclusion.
My thought is that we need to think hard and tall about all we do and say. Is it really something Jesus is involved in? How can we know for sure? How can we decide if it’s his leading or just our insatiable need to be noticed and have our name in lights? How much of our activity is born out of our silence and solitude; in our deep communion with Jesus and how much of it is simply getting all hyped up by the latest and trendiest leadership book?
0 comments:
Post a Comment