The gratuitous atrocities, and horrific tragedies which occur in our world, cause many to resign into despair. A mother in America loses a young child who dies because of the absence of adequate health care. A young boy in Angola is stolen from his parents and forced to kill for a cause he neither supports, nor understands. A girl in Indonesia is born into a brothel, with no future but to service men from the age of 5 until she is no longer considered to be useful. Considering the evils which come from the hearts of humanity, one can easily slip into a sort of nihilistic cynicism about what amount of good can actually be done in our World. To many in our times the thought of any sort of hope, is nothing more than a balm for the misguided, the ignorant and delusional.
Yet there is hope. There is a hope that is real, tangible, a hope which can be seen and felt. For those who put their faith in Christ there is more to hope for than anyone could imagine. It is this hope which keeps me hopeful in our broken world. It is the hope in the now and not yet, reign, of the God of love, justice, mercy and compassion, which keeps me hopeful that not only will one day things will be put right, but that I might bring hope, love and compassion to people in our world today. It is precisely the content of this hope, which can break through the darkest of darkness and bring light and new life into the depths of despair. Clearly we are called to bring hope to those in our World. We are to be the hands, feet and mouths of Christ. Moreover we the Church, are to be the body of Christ. God could have done things anyway he desired but he chose us to be his witnesses.
Yet, many questions remain unanswered. What does this witness look like in our World? How is it best and most holistically expressed? Does it only include preaching? Should Christians try to influence the world around them and if so, in what way? Should Christians work within the framework of governmental and secular systems of the world to bring hope or should this only be done within the four walls of the church and its para-church organizations. People matter to God, justice, righteousness, mercy and love matter to God, life matters to God. Micah 6:8 states “He has shown you, O man what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” God desires for these aspects of his character to be manifest in the earth. But what does that look like in our everyday lives? We will explore these and other related issues here at FaithAliveonline.blogspot.com and we invite you to joins us.
For our first topic we will look at issues relating to this election season. The first issue we will deal with is the issue of voting. How does faith impact the way we vote if we vote? In this election season, does our faith require that we cast a vote, endorse a candidate or raise our voice at all?
Check back tomorrow Tuesday September 16, 2008 when Adam McClun shares with us his opinion about why Christians should vote.
Yet there is hope. There is a hope that is real, tangible, a hope which can be seen and felt. For those who put their faith in Christ there is more to hope for than anyone could imagine. It is this hope which keeps me hopeful in our broken world. It is the hope in the now and not yet, reign, of the God of love, justice, mercy and compassion, which keeps me hopeful that not only will one day things will be put right, but that I might bring hope, love and compassion to people in our world today. It is precisely the content of this hope, which can break through the darkest of darkness and bring light and new life into the depths of despair. Clearly we are called to bring hope to those in our World. We are to be the hands, feet and mouths of Christ. Moreover we the Church, are to be the body of Christ. God could have done things anyway he desired but he chose us to be his witnesses.
Yet, many questions remain unanswered. What does this witness look like in our World? How is it best and most holistically expressed? Does it only include preaching? Should Christians try to influence the world around them and if so, in what way? Should Christians work within the framework of governmental and secular systems of the world to bring hope or should this only be done within the four walls of the church and its para-church organizations. People matter to God, justice, righteousness, mercy and love matter to God, life matters to God. Micah 6:8 states “He has shown you, O man what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” God desires for these aspects of his character to be manifest in the earth. But what does that look like in our everyday lives? We will explore these and other related issues here at FaithAliveonline.blogspot.com and we invite you to joins us.
For our first topic we will look at issues relating to this election season. The first issue we will deal with is the issue of voting. How does faith impact the way we vote if we vote? In this election season, does our faith require that we cast a vote, endorse a candidate or raise our voice at all?
Check back tomorrow Tuesday September 16, 2008 when Adam McClun shares with us his opinion about why Christians should vote.
2 comments:
This post does not necessarily necessitate a comment, but it was so eloquently written that I would like to weigh in. The church is called to be, as the author of this post argues, the body parts of Christ on this Earth. So, when you ask how is the church required to respond, I argue for the following.
The "Church" proper, as taught in ST3 at Trinity doesn't make reference to a building, organization, or denominational body. The biblical church represents the fellowship of believers called to edify others, worship and glorify God, and follow Christ in word and deed (imatio Christi).
That being the case, my response when asked how "FaithAlive" looks is 1)edification of believers in spiritual, physical, or mental need; 2) Engaging in activity that illumines the "Glory of God;" namely 3) Following the example of Christ and having a willingness to give yourself and your resources for the advancement of God's kingdom as Christ exemplified.
So when we see societal ills, do we respond by edifying others in a God-honoring way as shown by Christ? If not, we must question ourselves, "is my Faith Alive?"
I appreciate the intense thought that this post provokes. While not attempting to answer critical questions on how to address local and global issues in a Christian manner, this post does provoke thought on the topic of Faith in Action. My prayer is that this community continues to discuss these issues to the glory of God and for the edification of readers. This post has edified me by inspiring hope amidst nihilistic pessimism. While I may not be pessimistic about Christian change, it is hard to work with people who don't have a Rom 1:16 faith. However, discussions of this nature keep me encouraged to stand firm and trust that God's power will reign as He wills in His timing.
God Bless you for such an engaging post and lets keep the discussion going!
Thank you CV for your well put comments. We welcome any sort of response or dialogue whether it consist of critique, reflections or new questions. It is good to hear that the post not only resonated with you but was also edifying and encouraging as well. I invite you to continue to follow the blog in the next few days and bring more of your insights and opinions.
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