Friday, March 11, 2005

The battle rages on....

This world we live in looks like a pretty friendly place. And actually, thats what it was created to be. But its not, and we need to have our eyes opened to see that. Its a war zone. Its a battlefield. We are told that "the whole world lies in the power of the evil one." That should be a sobering statement to us. That phrase should have a major impact on the way we look at our lives each day. The scripture says a lot of things about this world we live in. Most are not good. Yet, many of us who would call ourselves followers of Jesus appear to love this world with a great passion. We want to enjoy it to the fullest. We get lost in our headlong pursuit of the pleasures this life has to offer. In the midst of that, we lose sight of the calling that Jesus has set before us. He wants us to stand against this world system. He wants us to "lay down our lives" to demonstrate the wonders of His love, and the greater reality of His kingdom. James wrote a challenging statement:

You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

I dont want to say too much about this, as it could sound judgemental and self-righteous, but this a passage of scripture that western "christianity" almost wholly ignores. Or worse yet, we take it and use it to create a legalistic, fear-driven religious system that is ultimately just as selfish and carnal as loving this world. We humans..... we think we are so smart. Most of the time we are clueless. We dont know that we dont know. I am more grateful every day for the wonderful, gracious mercy of God.

Lord, let me see clearly, every day. Let me see this world the way you see it. Let me love people the way you love them, and hate the kingdom of this world that enslaves them. Let me see what it means to be like Abraham, a friend of God, rather than a friend of this world. And let me do it in the spirit of Jesus, with a heart full of mercy and grace.

Bedtime....

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