God is not just going to fix everything!
01/31/08, 10:57:01 am, by Matt G.As I have been trying to find a good starting point to begin getting some things out of my head and into this blog, I find that I keep returning to this idea that seems to speak to some of the dynamics of my spiritual journey.
A number of years ago, I was lost in a period of disillusionment and confusion. I looked around and saw a world that was broken. I saw a world filled with pain, hate, suffering, etc… I wanted to make a change in the world. I wanted to save the world, but I had no idea how. I could not even save myself. I was lost. I was in despair.
In time, however, I came to understand something that brought about peace in my soul. I came to understand what it meant that Jesus Christ was my Savior. I came to know Jesus in a way that I never had before. My soul was at peace. The phrase that I would use to explain my newfound world view was, “I don’t have to save the world, because Jesus already has. Instead, I need to tell people that they are saved through Jesus.”
Although I still believe in salvation through faith in Christ rather than being able to save myself, I now find that there is a problem with the phrase that used to explain it all for me. The fact that Jesus has saved the world does not let me off the hook. So many Christians find so much comfort in the fact that Jesus has saved their souls, that they just sit back and assume that God is going to fix everything and usher in the Kingdom. Salvation through Christ has not let me or any other Christian off the hook. If the Kingdom is to be realized, we must participate in “fixing” the world. Our faith calls us to incarnate God’s love in the world. Yes, Jesus has saved the world. But, as Christ’s body in the world, Christians are called to do what Jesus did while he was in the world in the flesh. We are called to be with the poor, the outcast, the sick and all of God’s children that the world has forgotten. We are called to love our enemies and demonstrate forgiveness and love in the world. We are called to save the world for Christ.
Praise God!!!
12/19/07, 10:05:32 am, by Matt G.I just wanted to post an entry to celebrate the our fully functional website. I figured it was a good way to kick off my blog. Anyway, thanks to our Webmaster and mostly thanks to God we are up and running. Amen.