My facebook verse for today reads:
“I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.” Luke 12:4-5
This is a good warning that says, ’stop fearing man and all the worldly stuff, and live in reverence of God because he is the beginning and the end- everything else is under his power… so come and love him and don’t waste your life heading for an eternity without him’
I just stumbled onto this horrifying story, which I kind of don’t recommend you reading, and yet I think it is really important to read. Don’t try skimming it if you’re in a rush because it’s not the kind of story to brush off after a minutes, plus it got me thinking on a few other things…
First of all, this life.
-I heard someone say recently that it’s hard to picture the new heavens and new earth which God promises for those who love him because this life is quite beautiful and wonderful sometimes. I also read recently that ‘the goal of life is not to avoid the bad things‘ but to be so caught up in the joy of knowing God, that sin and wrong has less room in our hearts as Jesus fills them. Also, a song called Hallowed Father by Jeremy Riddle says to God, ‘I’ve consecrated myself as fully yours’ (body, heart.. soul).
In the story I linked you to, the terrors of life for those Sudanese people are inescapable. I’m filled with compassion and a little helplessness when I think about it. I’m sitting here in the UK thinking about my life- if only I could love people more, be more generous, have a pure heart… be more in love with Jesus and be more like him increasingly as the days pass, yet I am without the physical wounds or fear of battle- it is all within and yet for some folk in the world, the inner and outer battles are daily reality.
I believe the bible reveals a lot about the spiritual battle of light against darkness, obedience and courage to life fatihfully, for love against sin… the race that Christians run – of faith. To me, it seems like we forget the trials of the physical world too, trying to be ‘fine’ and escape both battles through coffee shops, vacations, tv, culture, fame, relationships, diets, money.. bla bla blah. So I sit here wondering, what do you think about? what do you care about? and what needs to happen before we edge closer to believing that there really are terrible things that need God’s grace and saving from… like the Sudan story.. like loads of stories that go unnoticed.
Second of all,
is a privilege, not a ‘must’ because God gives us the gift of living well… but I think this is also a way to bring God’s will on earth. Great sin, great evil exists in the world, whether I see it daily or not, whether I care about the people that suffer or not… but I can sometimes easily forget that and I get comfortable and that takes away from the compassion for people (suffering with) that we ought to feel… Today, however, I’m reminded, even just of Sudan. But it makes my fears so trivial in comparison to theirs.
Third of all,
to link this to the other points: it’s not easy to ‘consecrate your life to God’ or to ’stop fearing the physical and worldly stuff which truly is awful’. The only answer to the struggles, the battling darkness in your every day, I am convinced, is Jesus. I can’t bear the thought of people struggling through this world without the hope of glory after it. I can’t imagine coping in my own strength, not that my faith is a crutch, but that Jesus is the one to lean on… a real answer and relationship to rest in amidst the crap or just the mediocrity.
I see, know and seek God’s grace and Spirit in this life, and I hope for his grace over the darkness that overcrowds people…just to see people find hope in this life, I know it means asking Him.
