Friday, November 25, 2016

NEWS FLASH: GOD HAS NO POWER, ONLY LOVE


         Christians, you can't have it both ways. Either God is one of power or might, or of love. You can't have it both ways. That's what screwing you up so much. One minute you pray for this and that, with the assumption that God will make your dreams come true (If you are worthy? If God wants to? If you pray for it 'hard' enough or long enough?) The next minute you're claiming to follow Jesus who, it seems, didn't even get his wish when he prayed to be shown a different ending than death by the Romans.
        Can't you see that in real love there is no power? How can there be force and control in love? Any parent knows that in raising children in love, you are constantly giving away power until it is all gone. Only love remains. Yet, we continue in word and song to insist on a God that is all-powerful and mighty. It's no surprise that we've not grown in love and churches are dying. They deserve it.
       Let's look again at the Way of Jesus of Nazareth. There was no power there. Time and again he refused power of all kinds. Yet, we make him into our 'Messiah'. We may admit that that was the way of his 'earthly' ministry, but that he is still all powerful up in heaven. How terrible! When we do this, he truly did die in vain.
      Christmas will be in another four weeks, a time when we hear Jesus referred to as our king, messiah, and many more terms of power and might. How terrible. We ignore all the birth narratives in Matthew and Luke, stories that try to tell us all of how powerless the Word of God is, of how we must put aside our worship of Power and Control.
     Maybe, just maybe, this year we (Christians) will begin to hear. When we do, perhaps we will begin to find new life. If we don't, we'd better die off as soon as we can and encourage others to find God in the poor and powerless.

Just One Disciple,
Anthony

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