life and Christian life

life:

great. today was much fun. worked, came home, did some homework, napped slightly, went to play broomball with the HH crowd. so much fun! well worth the $6 that's almost half of the money i have available for the week. heh. at work emily (girl i work with) gave me a free pizza slip because she didn't want hers. she says she needs to lose weight, and she shouldn't eat it. i was very happy because i had lost my pizza slip, and now i can eat at work tomorrow! fun fun all day long. it was SO nice out! it was like impossible to be anything but cheerful today, loved it.

about once a week or so, i realize something new about me or others or life that i didn't realize before, and time and again i know that I probably wouldn't have realized these things if I was still in a serious relationship. dealing with feelings and all that has been a struggle yeah, but it's a struggle that comes with it's own rewards in the end, it's own growth. I thank God that the decision to be single wasn't all left up to me, because I doubt I would have made the right choice at the time. on that note, i also need to pray that i don't rush into anything again. love is unsafe at any speed, of course, but i know that i especially need to watch myself. i've always been a big fan of trying to have mastery over myself. keeping myself patient and disciplined. i think i do alright, but i do have pitfalls.

topic change. Christian life:

i was reading a story about a pastor of a megachurch. his name is Rev Gregory Boyd and his church was asking him to endorse a political candidate, to allow republican biased voter pamphlets to be circulated in the church, to announce a rally against homosexuality or abortion, and things of that sort. he wouldn't do it, and in response he preached a series of sermons about how it is not the responsibility of the church to force people to do anything. he said “When the church wins the culture wars, it inevitably loses,” “When it conquers the world, it becomes the world. When you put your trust in the sword, you lose the cross.” it's not that he doesn't think things like abortion and homosexuality are wrong, but it's not up to Christians to try to impose laws that prohibit other people. Christianity is not meant to dominate lives, it's meant to support and care for lives. the pastor lost a lot of church members over this message, but the ones who remained thanked him.

when thinking about what a good Christian thing to do would be, imagine Jesus doing this thing. Does it seem appropriate and likely that He would be in this position? Would Jesus be picketing outside an abortion clinic calling women murderers? Would Jesus be lobbying in a political campaign to stop a proposition that takes "in God we trust" off of our money? I think Jesus would be doing more important things. Things involving real people, face to face, showing them love, teaching them.

going along with the reading i did about this "radical" pastor, i also recall a service at Mars Hill last month. Rob Bell did a service where he took on the role of paul in prison. he sat in his "cell" and talked to the guards who did their guardly duty and pretended to ignore him. the whole message was taken from Philippians 1:12-14. the passage is:
Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. (13) As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. (14) Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.

Rob's entire discourse was based on these 3 verses. he talked to the guards as if he was Paul, just thinking out loud about the state of Christianity. it was because of the persecution the Christians were under that they were thriving. because of Paul being put in prison, people were preaching the Word more boldly. Christians were banding together because that is what they needed, each other. One of the last things Rob/Paul said went something like this, (from the best i could remember)
"you know what the worst thing would be, i think? if Christianity ever became dominant and powerful, if they ever became the sword and the law that Rome is now, if Christianity was forced on people. this religion, this group, thrives under persecution. it grows when it's in adversity. you step on one and they multiply beneath your feet. it would be a sad thing if the Christians became the ones doing the stepping."

after the message, there were some questions put up on the screen to think about, and one asked to compare Genesis 50:20 to the passage from Philippians. Genesis 50:20 is:
"You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." God has an amazing way of turning what seemed to be bad, what was supposed to be harmful, into something good. God can make good out of anything.

Christianity isn't meant to boss people around. It's about showing other people the love that Jesus Christ has showed us. When Christians start becoming the ones who are persecuting, we've moved far from the message Christ intended us to give. We are fighting, yes, but not for power. We're fighting to save lives, we are to teach and instruct, not force. It's our job to deliver the message, God does the work on hearts.

I pray that we all suffer through a little adversity. It's where Christianity came from. Know your roots.