Bangladesh, Orlando, Istanbul, NYC, London, Paris, Nairobi, Baghdad, Tunisia, Indonesia, Syria, Libya, Migrants in Mediterranean, Tel-Aviv, West Virginia Flooding, California Fires, Dallas and the list goes on.
We cannot separate these and feel sorry for some cultures more than others. No, we don’t have the same level of “connectedness” or cultural ties to them all but they are still and always are people created and loved by God.
God does not differentiate between us, we do that; we think that because we didn’t participate in shootings or bombings, we aren’t separated from God, but we are separated from Him by fear, hatred, lust, greed, adultery, apathy, sin. There is only one way to become children of God and that is to believe in Jesus Christ and ask him for the forgiveness of our sins.
We here in the US Christian Church have become so relaxed and apathetic toward ministry. We get our “God-fix” in on Sunday mornings and then go about the week hardly thinking of or talking to Him. I’m speaking for myself when I say this. We consider it so foreign to go down to the inner city and hand out food or blankets. That is something we do, maybe once a year with our churches. We as Christians claim to be followers of Jesus but aren’t willing to do what He did during his years in ministry. Teaching, preaching, healing the sick, loving the poor and outcast, and changing the culture around Him
God didn’t differentiate between dying for those who showed promise and success and life and those who were career criminals. He allowed himself to be crucified next to two thieves, He even took the place of a convict named, Barabbas, in the line for execution.
He gave him a second chance at life. He died for the Pharisees who called for him to be crucified. He died for Judas, the man who betrayed him into those hands. He died for the Romans soldiers who did the deed of nailing Him to the cross. He died for Al Qaeda militants, He died for Boko Haram, He died for Hamas, He died for ISIS.
He died for you and for me.
He died for Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Bill and Hilary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Evo Morales, David Cameron, Vladimir Putin, Raul Castro, Loretta Lynch, Ben Carson, Bill Nye
He died for you and for me.
He died for moms and dads who kill their children before birth. He died for the Doctors who murdered those babies. He died for the politicians who advocate for the abortion of babies.
He died for you and for me.
How then can we, as Christians, not desire to tell them the good news? How can we call ourselves Christians if we don’t live a life of utter sacrifice as Christ did for the salvation of souls? We have no choice but to live completely for Christ.
“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”
Genesis 1:27
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.
Isaiah 9:6&7
“Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.
By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone are deliverance and strength.’” All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame. But all the descendants of Israel will find deliverance in the Lord and will make their boast in him.
Isaiah 45:22-25
I am speaking generally now, (I know not everyone lives this way but so many of us do); We have become so consumed as a culture into thinking that we have to please everyone and do what culture ways we should do. We think that love equals agreeing with everyone else’s beliefs. We think that thinking differently and believing differently means that we are oppressing them. We think that doing what culture tells us to do is more important than doing what God, the creator of all things, tells us to do.
Let us wake up to God’s call on our lives. Nowhere in the following verse does it say “If it’s convenient…”, “If you aren’t doing anything else right now…”, “Wait a few years until you have life figured out…” or “After you’ve climbed the ladder of a career…”
If you claim to be a believer in Christ this what He says to us,
“All Authority in Heaven and on Earth has been given to me. Therefore Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and eye Holy Ghost, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28: 18-20.
