Our faith is in Christ, not man. Power and control are man made, it is up to us to accept the truth of God. Everything He does is through His great love for us.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
the abuses of mankind are taken care of by the words of Jesus to love your neighbor as much as you do yourself.
Freedom to choose to care
Napoleon reminded us, "Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to choose." And because of that, the freedom “to choose” always works better in speeches, than it does in practice.
For me, it boils down to this: For whatever reason, I am afraid to let who I am (and what I have) spill to the world around me.
Freedom is grounded in embracing (and being embraced by) the gift of grace (in the words of Seamus Henry, "like well water far down") that already abounds. Inside of us.
In the Gospels, Jesus loved a party. And he partied with some very eccentric and outlandish people. And he wasn't too concerned about public opinion, or impressing the right crowd. Remember the party with the woman who wasn’t invited, the conspicuous outsider? Notice this: Jesus never talked to an outcast or untouchable, because Jesus didn't “see” an untouchable. He saw only a child of God that he was madly in love with.
Freedom cannot exist in a vacuum. Judaism teaches us that we need to see beyond "redemption." When the Jewish people were set free from slavery in Egypt, the point of the story (for us today) is not just that we are free, but what we do with that freedom. The story says, "Let my people go, so that they may reflect God.”
In other words, we do this by not withholding.
By living unabashed.
By letting the grace that is within us, spill.
In conversations these days, in a world often upside down, I am asked, “But what choices do we have? What can I do?”
I can begin here: I can care.
Live simply.
Love seriously.
Care deeply.
Speak kindly.
Leave the rest to the God.
Sabbath Moments
Colossians 2:4–5
4 Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words. 5 For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. The New King James Version
This passage builds on Paul’s remarks in verse 2–3. Because Christ represents the full revelation of God, and because believers are united with Christ, the Colossians can be confident of their salvation and the defeat of worldly powers. Faithlife Study Bible
Paul not only emphasizes Jesus’ deity, but also explains that He possesses all wisdom and knowledge. The Gnostics thought only certain “knowledgeable” people could join their elite group; Paul teaches that every believer has access to complete wisdom found in Christ. The NKJV Study Bible
1 Corinthians 14:40 Let all things be done decently and in order.
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