If the Jesus I follow told us to turn the other cheek (matthew 5:39), how can I be at rest with the idea of war, of Just-war, or of the death penalty? Is our job as human beings to judge? To decide when another soul must face a "deserved" punishment of death?
Jesus does not look at sins on a scale, as if my self-pity and my anger are lesser sins than murdering. I cannot justify, within myself, the idea of war anymore.
By extension, I am choosing a path of nonviolence and commitment to loving, and to learning what it means to love. I am claiming pacifism in the sense that I no longer believe in violence as an answer to major problems in governmental, individual, or social systems. Another world is possible!
War happens. It is a result of the evil in this world. I may not be able to prevent it, I am only one person. I am not out to boycott the military, or demean soldiers...
Both soldiers and civilians, US government and foreign officials have my love. Not because they are doing what is right, but because they are loved by Christ. Not because I agree with what they stand for, but because Jesus gave up his life for us all.
We are all broken.
and we are all capable of such beauty, and resilience.
What I plan to do is this: love as Christ first loved me, and forgive as He forgives me. I have read about love, and I have claimed to know love. Yet, these past few months in my life I sort of had all of that stripped from me, I felt like I did not know what love was. I was afraid of love, I ran from it like a disease. The amount of fear I felt could not exist in unity with love-- love casts out fear (I'm not talking about the holy fear of the Lord here btw).
Somehow, between reading good books, communing with beautiful broken people and with my perfect Savior... fear was cast out of my life long enough for me to catch the flame of love again..
it has the most beautiful embodiment, like perfect harmonies and definite smile lines. My ribs are exploding!!
I don't know how to make you understand what is going on in my heart and my mind. I just know that I'll never be the same.
resouces:
Matthew 5
The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne
Ecclesiastes 12:6-
Throw by Son Lux
4 comments:
It's hard for us to love others sometimes. Loving people that are nice to us and make our lives more enjoyable is a given... it's loving people that we don't want to that's hard, and more necessary. But God is love, and if we give everything to Him, make Him first, then we can live IN love, and it becomes easier and easier to demonstrate it.
What's happening to you is a beautiful thing.
I totally am having a similar realizing while reading Shane Claiborne. Although I am not yet certain what my view on war and morality is (I am leaning towards it's inneccessity, but I can't say I believe all soldiers are sinners because of their occupation. I need to do more Bible reading and research before I can determine my view), I feel that it is my place only to love and serve, and that my call is to nonviolence. I also like what Shane wrote about the different aspects of discipleship, and realize that my calling may not be that of everyone else. However, love has a key place in all discipleship, and should be everyone's focus who wants to live what they believe, which has sadly become uncommon.
I am realizing more and more the falseness of the culture we live in, and how we live as Americans is not how we should live as Christ followers. This includes what some Christianity has turned into: commercialized, compromised, and safe faith. We say that we will do anything Christ asks us to do, even die for Him...
But would we really? Would we sell everything, give up ALL that we know and love for Christ? Would we die for our faith?
I am realizing that until now, I don't know that I could answer yes to all of these questions. Now, I realize the sacrifice that is called for by Jesus, and I feel much more ready to give up anything for Him, and hope to be given opportunities to prove it. I pray that we will all be challenged to do the same.
I could go on for much longer on what I have been thinking about, but I don't wanna take up the whole blog ;)
I just have one question:
Would you give up everything for Christ?
I dare you to prove it.
lately, i've been feeling like i can't accomplish anything! there is so much to do, and so much research to do about where things are coming from, what i am consuming.... the list is endless, there is so much pain everywhere. And what can I do?
I am so small and broken myself, how can I really do anything? I mean, I already know the answer. But that is what I'm dealing with right now. The answer is Jesus will do it for me, through me... around me... you know?
But man oh man, there is way too much sadness in this world. Sometimes it just gets to me.
About proving it, i keep putting it off. and it makes me h a t e myself. I can't even give up simple things like comfort, let alone big things like trusting God with my future. agghh.
When will I wake up?
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