There are plenty of vulnerable and hurting people who not only do not believe in God or follow him, they make choices that go against him and his ways. I'm asking if you believe that there are vulnerable people crossing our paths whose vulnerability is because of their choices. What do we do then?
Being Saved means much more than going to heaven when you die. When the New Testament writers speak about being saved, they’re referring to being rescued or freed from the penalty, the presence, and the power of sin. While there’s a past component of being saved which was accomplished and done in the death and resurrection of Jesus and there is a future component of being saved which we are looking forward to in spending eternity with Jesus and God for all eternity. There is a present part of being saved which is still very much in process. This is what James is referring to when he says in James1:21, the Word that can save you. God has spoken us into new life, new creation by the Word of Truth, the Gospel. That word is planted in us like a seed and can have the effect of freeing us from the power and presence and penalty of sin in our life, but only if we do not merely listen to the Word of Truth, the Gospel, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Do what the Gospel says.
Listening helps develop curiosity. It also puts us in this posture of wondering rather than assuming that we know. It's one of the most stressful things in the world when we believe that we can read other people's minds. Have you ever noticed that?
Life isn't a Hallmark card.
The Christian narrative provides a grand and sustaining vision through the difficulties that we face in life. It's not that we pretend to be joyful and then minimize the heartache as though it is irrelevant, but rather to walk with God through the difficulty and ask him to redeem the heartache by reframing it in a kingdom perspective.
In every single one of us, whether we realize it or not, there is a desire for something higher, wider, and deeper than anything this life offers. And every now and then if we listen, if we tune in, we might notice it rumbling. We might notice it rustling somewhere deep within us.
It's really hard to look at the world without wanting God to handle certain things in a certain way. We want God to make it easier for us to believe in him. We want him to help the hurting. We want him to eradicate evil. I mean, who wouldn't want to do that? We want him to protect children. What sort of God would not want to protect children 110% of the time? We want him to do away with homelessness. We want him to eliminate suffering. We want him to answer our prayers the way we want them to be answered. We want to be happy. What's wrong with that? And God disappoints because ultimately his ways are not our ways.
Another significant chapter in Israel's history occurred when the Babylonians conquered Israel in 586 BC. After that happened, thousands of Jewish people were deported from Israel to what is today Iraq. And there they lived for 70 years as exiles. Exile is a description of God's people throughout history. I am an exile. Living in a context where God's kingdom and ways were not being upheld by the government or empire that was in charge.
Jesus was born a Jew, and he spent his entire life surrounded by signs and symbols reminding him that the empire of Rome was in charge. That's why his message that the kingdom of God had come near was so politically charged and problematic because it directly challenged the empire.
While the anonymous woman in our story, perhaps part by personality, but certainly influenced by her life circumstances, had learned to live in the way of passivity, to avoid, to hide. Don't make any noise, just blend in.…
The danger in religion comes when our confidence, when our faith is transferred from the God with whom we are trying to connect and become centered on the various beliefs and practices and rituals essentially the “rules” of our religion. Because, you see, ultimately the rules of our religion have absolutely no power to do anything for us.