6-2-2020

Good Morning All, 

        2 Corinthians 4:18; “as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

    We are experiencing a fair amount of tension these days.  There are times and places when we enjoy some tension.  We like to watch sporting events when the score is close, and the winner is not clear.  We like the tension this creates; one missed basket, or tackle, an error in the field, or a missed spike can change the course of the game.  We like to watch and wonder, “who will win?”  We like tension in our movies and TV shows.  We want the ending to offer a surprise or some element of uncertainty.  We like the intrigue in our entertainment but not so much in our daily lives.

    The world seems to be filled with tension. Every day it seems to increase.  It feels as though the whole thing is ready to explode.  Maybe it is maybe it isn’t.  We don’t truly know but what do we do in the meantime?  How do we go forward?

    I think one of the reasons why Christians struggle is because we live in tension.  We live in the tension of what theologians call the “now but not yet.”  Each of us, as Christians, have received from God the great and wonderful promises made to us through Jesus.  We have the forgiveness of our sins, we have eternal life, we have the promise of full healing, restoration, complete joy, and perfect love.  We have these promises, we cling to these promises, we seek these promises to deliver us from our pain, sorrow, struggles and suffering.  Our tension is that we have these promises, but these promises are not yet completely fulfilled.  We have the promise of eternal life and the end of death.  Yet this will not be complete until Christ returns and destroys death, the final enemy.  None of the other promises will be completely fulfilled until Christ returns.

    We struggle with that, especially in the United States.  We as Christians have never had a hard time in the US.  Our faith has always been allowed, even encouraged in many ways.  We tend to see ourselves as Christians as exceptional, worthy, and deserving of the “finer things in life.”  Nothing is farther from the truth.  The Holy Scriptures tells us to expect suffering and pain because sin still exists, the devil is still prowling around, and creation is still broken.

    So, we need to live in the “real” world.  This is a world where bad things happen and will continue until Jesus returns.  But we do not give up hope, for hope is our number one gift.  Since we have the complete hope of the fulfillment of the promise of God made through Jesus, we can and should dedicate our life to spreading that promise to all around us.  We can do this by striving for justice, for peace, for harmony and for loving our fellow man.  We will never fix the world, but we can be that one light in the darkness.  We can be that single beacon in the darkest of night.  We need to speak, against violence of all types and for the respect and the dignity of all people.   We know tension, but we know our Savior has won the victory for us and its assurance should lead us to peace.

Father of all love, we ask that you send your Spirit of peace to end the violence that is plaguing our land.  Give our leaders wisdom to make the choices according to your will.  Move us to be the light in this broken and hurting world.  Make us peacemakers for we are your sons.  Heal us Father, for the sake of Jesus our Lord and Savior, amen