Action

“Therefore prepare your minds for action; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed” 1 Peter 1:13 NRSV

This section of text intrigues me primarily because of the “therefore” and what the therefore requires of the reader. Prior to this text Peter tells his readers that they are saved because of “the outcome of [their] faith”. In light of this salvation (therefore) they are to, as the original text puts it “gird up the loins of your mind” or “prepare your minds for action. The placing of these texts next to one another is important, especially because when an author uses “therefore” he is practically yelling “Hey look at these texts together!!!”

This section of text captures something that I think in modern America, many people have forgotten about. The message of the gospel is often designed to show the listeners how they can benefit from hearing the gospel, but Peter has taken the message of the gospel to its proper end. Peter is saying… since you have received salvation of your souls because of your faith; prepare your minds for action.

As Christians, we are called to act in response to our salvation, to gird up the loins of our minds in response to the grace which we have received. In other words, the acceptance of Christ in baptism is simply the first step in a life of action, a life of service to others that a Christian performs in response to the grace which he or she has received.

Are you ready for action?

God is Good

“God is good all the time” is quite an amazing theological statement. This statement is fairly unique to the Judeo-Christian heritage. In many cultures, especially those with a plurality of gods, deities often are fickle characters that are good if one does what is required of him or her by the god. What an interesting statement then, to say that our God is good all of the time! This would be especially interesting in the Greco-Roman world, this type of plurality of gods permeated the culture.

And yet, what is perhaps more interesting is the circumstances under which the phrase (or others like it) were uttered. The Jewish people had no country of their own, no king or kingdom. And yet, God is good.

The story of Joseph is excellent at expressing the fact that God is good during times of difficulty and during times of greatness. Joseph’s story spans across a good ten chapters towards the end of Genesis. The story of Joseph details not only personal triumphs and failures, but also nation-wide abundance, and famine. Joseph is put in charge of a large estate, and God is good. Joseph is thrown in jail based on false charges, and yet God is good. There are seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine in the land, and still God is good.

We come from a heritage with a rich theology that realizes that both in times of famine and in times of plenty, out God is in control, and our God is good, what an encouraging place to be!

Evan Almighty

The movie Evan Almighty recently came out on DVD so I finally got a chance to watch it. I thought it was pretty good, there were some good morals and values in it, but there was a quote that really stood out to me as something. A short plot synopsis: A man, wanting to change the world is tasked by God to build an ark in preparation of an impending flood. This of course causes job issues and family issues as Evan reluctantly begins his task. At one point in time, Morgan Freeman, who portrays God in the film is talking to Evan’s wife, who had prayed that their family could be closer, and he says: “Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other?”

What an interesting idea! I don’t know about you but I often have the expectation that God will zap-fry me some patience or self-control or whatever but I don’t think often enough about what spiritual development really looks like. Spiritual disciplines, are just that, and like any other discipline, they require training to become proficient in them.

And God Said

Well, I’m in a new place in the Newsletter, and when I found out, the first thing I wanted to know was how big the column was, how many words I could write, so I could plan accordingly. Unfortunately, there is less space in this new location (maybe you don’t see that as unfortunate!), but this change got me thinking about the nature of words, and how powerful they are. In the Genesis narrative, God’s creative power is unleashed by the speaking of words. Physical existence began with the intonation of “Let there be…” John writes that Christ himself is the Word, and that he is life (John 1:1ff). Words have the ability to unite countries and cultures, or to cause holocausts.

The word, whether spoken or written is powerful. But perhaps more exciting than the power of the word, is the fact that God’s word is “living and active, sharper than any double edged sword it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Heb. 4:12). This text is heartening, because we are told that unlike written word, the Word of God is living and active, it has ongoing action within out lives. So not only is the Word powerful, it is relevant, it has the life to convict us and to encourage us, and that is a comforting thought, and it leaves me with a question:

How is the Word of God speaking into your life?