The Gospel of...Hostility

Editor's Note: Part one of six in a series entitled "The Gospel of...".

Based on the presuppositions of beliefs and attitudes, how easy it is for man to say what he is against. This hostility of condemnation demonstrates a steadfast adherence to absolute truth, which is not to be diminished. However, this hostility is just that, hostility.

J.R. Kerr says it this way, "The Church is unfortunately known by what it stands against."

Put this way, someone who is not a part of the Church, when asked, will likely say:

"The Church is against homosexuality, premarital sex, the legalization of substances, embryonic stem cell research...."

Sadly, there will likely be no mention of what the Church is for.

To this statement, it is retorted, the Church is for truth. Undoubtedly, it is. However, truth is not a statement of what is the opposite of truth. Truth is a statement of truth.

Christ said, "I am the way the truth and the life." He did not say, "I am against the adulterous, legalistic, sacrificial practices of the pharisees." Although He was against such things and even said such things, He made known what He was for and by principle was against those things that contradicted what He was for. He came into the world, not to condemn it, but to save it.

Therefore, the Church must be known by what it is for and by principle what it is against, that is, sin, will be condemned by default as it stands for what it is for.

"Love one other: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

The Church stands for Jesus Christ, Him crucified, died, resurrected and reigning. It stands for love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, forgiveness, mercy, equality, righteousness, grace and justice. It stands for the hope of redemption through Him and the glorious restoration of the world and its inhabitants.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is only hostile to sin and evilness because it first stands for the good, loving, glorious, holy, magnificent, power of God.

What if all people knew Christians by what they stood for?

"So that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

The Calling

"What is your calling?"

"Where are you being led?"

"What do you want to do with that [namely some degree]?"

At some point in life's short existence, these are questions, or those like them, asked of almost every person, less individuals whose caste, family or other influence predetermine the answers to these questions.

Personally, these answers cannot be answered within the general context of their inquiry. However, there are certain answers to each of these questions shared among all followers of Christ:

"What is your calling?" To worship God.

"Where are you being led?" His eternal dwelling place.

"What do you want to do with that [namely some degree]?" Glorify Him.

Despite the divide of cultural, lifestyle and educational differences within the Church, that divide is eliminated with these questions because the answers are the same for all who call upon His name.

And so we live with our minds set on above, not concerned with the futility of the day.

Civil Unrest, Eternal Rest

Within recent months, peoples of the world have declared the inadequacies of failing governments. The unrest has permeated the minds and actions of the peoples of Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, Libya, Iraq, Iran, Algeria, Sudan, Djibouti, Ivory Coast, Jordan and the list continues.

Continual monitoring of international news sources may lead to hopelessness, fear, uncertainty and pessimism as the nations of the world demand liberties, freedom and security. Domestically, political battles and corrupt businesses inspire crudity, lack of morality and selfishness.

As social, economic and political unrest ensues, the sun rises and sets. Although new challenges, new life and the end of life occur, each day is new and full of the promises made by the Creator.

Unrest only exists if rest exists. Believers of the Word know this to exist. Ultimate rest and citizenship is not bound to the unrest of this earth but united in eternity. Hope and certainty in Christ shall end civil unrest, and that is reason enough to take the streets to proclaim His faithfulness.

False Spring

In the Midwest, it is not uncommon to experience a false spring, a period of time during the winter months in which temperatures and weather conditions resemble spring. After this short period, temperatures plummet and snow ensues as winter resumes until spring actually begins. For most Midwesterners, this cyclical occurrence is met with excitement and then a reasonable let-down when winter continues.

Without carelessly analyzing God's reasoning for such events, it is plausible that parallels can be drawn between this meteorological phenomenon and humanity. As the natural seasons resemble a cycle, so too do our lives. Sometimes our spiritual lives are met with reviving life and then after a short, or perhaps extended period, are reacquainted with dreary complacency.

As winter continues in our life, we have two options: embrace the let-down and settle for complacency or live by faith with hope for the fulness of Christ to embark new life.

The past week has been a week of false spring throughout a large portion of the nation. We all live with the knowledge that spring will come, that life will be refreshed and renewed. May our actions, thoughts, and words resemble this truth as we live now with reviving life and hope for the coming day of eternal life fulfilled.

The Finale

There is a beginning and an end to all that is living and not living, aside from the Creator. This is not a profound statement or a revolutionary ideal; it is simply truth.

As a child, I knew that people were born and later they died. It is as simple as that. Of course, as humans, we inherently make it more intricate than the simple truth of that of which is born must also die. Thankfully, life and death are meant to be more than simple occurrences of biology; for if it is not to be more, then the span of time between the true extremes means nothing.

Within the past year, people who I have known and loved died. Before that, people who I knew and loved died. In the year to come and those that follow, people who I know and love will die. Indeed, I too will die.

Today, the eyes of a child are no longer present, albeit such simplicity has significance in death. Death is dramatic, exciting and liberating. Indeed the process to that simplistic state may be painful, grievous and horrific. But death is simple. It is the end of a complex existence after birth.

The reflection of the past with the promise of a hopeful eternality indeed is celebrated by what we call death. It is a beautiful, mournful and celebratory, and simple finale of biological life. The simplicity of death is a product of grace that the finale is indeed less complex than what led us to that state.

The Follower

During a solitary lunch one Sunday afternoon, I observed the actions of a family dining nearby. The father, a professor, his wife and his children, four boys and one girl, were contentedly finishing their meal as I sat down.

The boys, ages four to six with a set of twins, got up from the table and ascended the top of a small incline consisting of two steps. They repeatedly went to the top and jumped down, in perfect unison each time. After several jumps, the mother scolded the boys. They snickered and walked away.

The girl, perhaps age three, was observing the boys during their escapade. She climbed to the top of the steps just as her parents were leaving the table with the dishes. Completely unsupervised, the girl proceeds to jump. She falls on the first step. No tears, no attention. Instead, she stands, looks around to see if anyone saw her, presumably, and quickly massages her hind end. Then she repeats the aforementioned process for the second step.

Then the parents return and they are on their way. No one ever saw the girl; the parents were gone and the boys were busy being mischievous. Nonetheless, this three year old girl left lunch content with a smile that she had followed her brothers and succeeded where they had failed.

Of course, success is in the eye of the beholder, but being the follower does not mean you are not the leader, as this girl found out; it just means that you learn from the mistakes of the leader, follow them anyway, and become a humbled leader of your own.

The Opinion of Division

"The opposite of love is not hate; it is indifference." - Dr. Keith Phillips

In my family, there are many theological, sociological, economical and political views. The differences divide us in some areas, unite us in others and challenge us practically to move beyond idealistic concepts of thought to livable methods of application, whether or not there is agreement.

Division is a beautiful and crucial aspect of societal advancement. Likemindedness and communal beliefs are indeed vital for personal identity. However, shared thoughts rarely challenge anything beyond an egocentric world. It is in the difference of opinion where a challenge forces the abandonment, defense, strengthening or perseverance of opinion.

Fear undermines the lack of challenges sought. It is not a fear of competition, albeit it could be, but a fear of the non-egocentric reality that not all of creation views creation as the same reality.

The greatest danger of opinion is that dogma hinders meaningful conversation. These conversations, debates, challenges and disagreements do not find purpose through an egocentric idealism, but rather find beauty in the reality to understand the division of opinions, common ideologies and a unification through diversity.

Where there is diversity, there is also unity. In the Church we are united by the Lord, despite the differences that abound within and among us. In the world, we are united by humanity. If we are stuck in either without the consideration of another, we are doomed for we shall not grasp the beauty of all of creation and truly love our neighbors, our enemies and our own families.

Differences in opinion should not be penalized but rather explored to have an even greater appreciation for the diversity of creation, united in common threads and celebrated among likeminded friends.