grace II

so are we truly called to be victims? is god really as unconcerned with justice as it appears? are we really powerless? that answer to all those is no. we are not called to be victims because paul told us that we are more than conquerors through christ. anyone who has read the bible can see how concerned with justice god is. only, god spends more time worrying about the poor and the oppressed and those who have nothing like orphans and widows than he does spending time making sure everyone who got you gets got. and we are not powerless, we are tapped into the power of the universe. the problem is we have misconstrued what that power really looks like.
when i think of power i think of someone that can clean anyone's clock and who is the one guy that everybody knows you shouldn't mess with. i think of some cool person who walks around and never has to do anything because if he did, watch out! sadly, i think of tony soprano. benevolent and respected until someone stupid crosses the line and forces his hand. then that person is never heard from again. i want to have the kind of power that makes others see me like that. i want the kind of power that the creator of the universe has. i want the power that is promised to a child of god, i pray that things might go my way. i pray and fast for the people in my life. occasionally, however, i also pray against those who i know are doing wrong and i want god to acknowledge my prayer and bring the divine smackdown on them.
after all, we are promised to be treated like children right? i have been told that all i need do is ask and it shall be given unto me. so, why don't i feel like the powerful child of an all-powerful creature.
then i read about jesus. then i hear things like blessed are the meek...blessed are those that mourn...blessed are the poor...turn the cheek...walk the extra mile....forgive. i read about One who could walk on water, heal teh blind, raise the dead and i get excited. then i hear about the beatings, the mockery and the death, and my blood runs cold. why did jesus die? i don't really know but i am beginning to see that there are two ways to live life. one way demands justice and gives me the satisfaction of demanding recompense for actions and trespasses against me. it feels good to hit the head of the one who struck me. it feels good to shove the shover, to curse the curser, to harass the harasser. that feels good. that feels right. that feels powerful. but then i realize that just as i am thinking that about someone else, someone entirely new is thinking that about me. as i strike out at my oppressor someone who sees me as their enemy strikes a blow at me. and someone at them, and then someone at them...and so on and so on.....
the other way is the path of grace. in this way we do not allow ourselves to retaliate. we do not push, we do not shove, we do not harass or curse or condemn. we thwart evil with good. we offer water and food to those who call us enemy. we offer peace to those who want nothing but war. we offer love to the unlovable and detestable. in this we conquer because the truth of the matter is that, in this, we are set free. we are no longer chained to the one who hurt us. we step out of the destructive circle of retribution and into the peace of god's kingdom. it hurts at first but that is only because we are not used to it. we still live in the world that loves revenge. to do other feels alien, weird. did we really think following god would feel natural to the broken person?
we are called to usher in a new world order. one that is not built by the sword or through an army. this world order operates in the unseen alleyways where drug addicts lie prostrate. this world comes alive in the gutters, in times of suffering. when people weep, when people are shut out, when people are locked out, forgotten and spit upon. those people are the celebrities and roylaty of the kingdom of god. those the world sees as unfit are the cream of god's crop.
jesus once told a story about two men. both men were in debt. one owed $50 the other owed $500 000 and both debts were forgiven. which one was happier? if you said the one with the larger debt you are correct. and in that answer you see the kernel that will grow into the very kingdom of god. heaven is here, heaven is waiting, people who have got it "all together" need not apply (don't worry, they probably wouldn't anyway).
to be continued.....