Jesus lived in a time that may have been a long time ago, but it wasn't all that different from our own. The number of those who were true believers in God were few and far between. The number of those who gave lip service to God or who worshiped false Gods was high. Those who were in power were trying to destroy those who were true believers, especially if they could not turn them in favor of the false Gods. So, how did Jesus fight the powers that be?
He fought them with the one weapon they couldn't understand and weren't prepared to defend themselves against. He didn't bring out swords or sabers or pikes or chariots, he brought out the truly big gun. He brought out love. So simple, so humble, and yet so incredibly powerful it was able to slice their ranks in two. They couldn't fight it. They couldn't win against it. The more they tried to squish it, the stronger it grew. This is how our battles of faith must be fought as well.
Hatred, fear, weapons, and power are things our enemy knows all too well and they have more of them than we do. They know how to turn one person against another using fear and hatred and envy and greed, and all the ugly things that human beings have within them. They are prepared for what to do in case someone brings out a gun or a knife or any other weapon sold in a store. They are prepared to cope with anger and hatred. In fact, they like those things because they make you easier to control and manipulate. What they are not prepared for and cannot cope with is for people to put down those guns and genuinely love one another. They are not prepared for neighbors who are willing to die for the sake of one another. They are not prepared for one man to reach across to his brother and help him.
Christians, I dislike the fact that our president seems to be so cavalier in tossing out our second amendment rights - but perhaps we should see it as a blessing in disguise. Perhaps we should look at this and see in it God telling us to put down the weapons our enemy prefers and pick up the one weapon our enemy can not see, destroy, or understand. That weapon, friends, is the love of Jesus Christ and the fellowship that it engenders between people of good will.
Our founding fathers wrote the second amendment because they believed having access to fire power equal to that the government possessed was the only way to secure liberty and freedom for our nation. These were men who would have joined the Jewish rebellion of 70 a.d., that same rebellion that resulted in the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem and the scattering of the Jewish people. Perhaps, friends, it's time to learn from history rather than repeat it. The solution is not more guns or more ammunition. The solution is for each of us to pick up our cross and grow closer to Christ, to fight for the hearts and minds of our neighbors, friends, and enemies with truth and charity, and to place our trust in God rather than in a .357 magnum.
I don't pretend to be an authority on Church matters, just a lay person doing her best to live out the faith as she knows it to be. These are my thoughts, I'd love to hear yours.
He fought them with the one weapon they couldn't understand and weren't prepared to defend themselves against. He didn't bring out swords or sabers or pikes or chariots, he brought out the truly big gun. He brought out love. So simple, so humble, and yet so incredibly powerful it was able to slice their ranks in two. They couldn't fight it. They couldn't win against it. The more they tried to squish it, the stronger it grew. This is how our battles of faith must be fought as well.
Hatred, fear, weapons, and power are things our enemy knows all too well and they have more of them than we do. They know how to turn one person against another using fear and hatred and envy and greed, and all the ugly things that human beings have within them. They are prepared for what to do in case someone brings out a gun or a knife or any other weapon sold in a store. They are prepared to cope with anger and hatred. In fact, they like those things because they make you easier to control and manipulate. What they are not prepared for and cannot cope with is for people to put down those guns and genuinely love one another. They are not prepared for neighbors who are willing to die for the sake of one another. They are not prepared for one man to reach across to his brother and help him.
Christians, I dislike the fact that our president seems to be so cavalier in tossing out our second amendment rights - but perhaps we should see it as a blessing in disguise. Perhaps we should look at this and see in it God telling us to put down the weapons our enemy prefers and pick up the one weapon our enemy can not see, destroy, or understand. That weapon, friends, is the love of Jesus Christ and the fellowship that it engenders between people of good will.
Our founding fathers wrote the second amendment because they believed having access to fire power equal to that the government possessed was the only way to secure liberty and freedom for our nation. These were men who would have joined the Jewish rebellion of 70 a.d., that same rebellion that resulted in the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem and the scattering of the Jewish people. Perhaps, friends, it's time to learn from history rather than repeat it. The solution is not more guns or more ammunition. The solution is for each of us to pick up our cross and grow closer to Christ, to fight for the hearts and minds of our neighbors, friends, and enemies with truth and charity, and to place our trust in God rather than in a .357 magnum.
I don't pretend to be an authority on Church matters, just a lay person doing her best to live out the faith as she knows it to be. These are my thoughts, I'd love to hear yours.
Comments
Post a Comment