When Love meant telling a story

Ever wondered why Jesus so often used parables ... riddles ... to illustrate and explain his point?

Christ himself provided the answer in Matthew 13:10-17.

The disciples came to him and asked, "Why do you speak to the people in parables?" He replied,

"The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.

This is why I speak to them in parables:

Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand."

But why did Christ bother explaining himself in the first place?

Being God, why didn't the Messiah simply put his hands on his hips and angrily inform the multitudes, "Why? Because I said so."

I believe Christ went the extra step and told parables to the crowds because he loved the people who'd taken the time and trouble to seek him out and hear his message, and because he wanted each and every person to believe and place their faith in him.

Through their choice, and not through his threats or commands.

no assembly required

I've noticed three all too common characteristics in folks who call themselves Christians:

1. An amazing capacity and willingness to remake God, Christ and Scripture in their own image to satisfy their expectations and suit their own purposes: "God fits right inside this shiny box I built"

2. An unflinching eagerness to identify and diagnose the other guy's sins while completely overlooking and denying their own: "I may have my faults, but they're nothing compared to so-and so"

3. A condescending and suspicious I'm more saved and closer to God than you are attitude under the smiling handshakes and happy veneers: "I'm glad they're going to church and all, but I'm just not sure they're sincere"

Why those 3? Because I see them reflected in myself.

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Take a night off from network TV and the cable channels to experience the film Of Gods and Men on DVD instead.

"Under threat by fundamentalist terrorists, a group of Trappist monks stationed with an impoverished Algerian community must decide whether to leave or stay." - imdb.com

What's faith ... and testimony ... without works?

Watch the trailer here.

Indefinite power outages in Tanzania

"Nairobi — Tanzania's chronic energy crisis deepened last week after the country announced a 12-hour power-rationing schedule.

"A drastic drop in the water level of the Mtera hydroelectric dam in Iringa Region forced the Tanzania Electricity Supply Company (Tanesco) to announce an alternating power rationing programme ushering in 12-hours of power cuts during daytime and six hours at night in most regions.

"According to the World Bank, only 15 per cent of households in the region are connected to national grids. Tanzania is the least electrified of all, with 7.2 million off-grid households. This is followed by Kenya (6.2 million), Uganda (5.5 million), Rwanda (1.7 million) and Burundi (1.4 million)." - allafrica.com

Death ... and hating sin

Much as I try accepting that it's inevitable, I can't say I'm looking forward to death.

The Apostle Paul seemed to sometimes have trouble making up his mind too, so I hope none of you will judge me too harshly if I confess to some ambivalence.

Some people look forward to being reunited with loved ones and pets in Heaven while others look forward to reaping great rewards like mansions and crowns. Still others can't wait to be bestowed with omniscient knowledge (even if that gift isn't mentioned in scripture and it means spending eternity never knowing "who shot JFK").

Tonight it occurred to me there's something I've never heard anyone claim they're looking forward to: Shedding the sinful self and finally being free of sin and temptation forever.

Being alive with Christ in God's presence ... with every form of sin and temptation vanquished, dead and buried forever ... is a powerful reason to rejoice, to give thanks to Jesus and to be humbled by his love and sacrifice on the cross.

How powerful is your God?

Ever noticed how many folks have adopted "designer" religions? People feel completely comfortable, and actually empowered by, picking and choosing what parts of what religion they like while rejecting any parts with which they disagree.

For those people, faith is all about choice. But here's a question.

If you believe in a god that's your custom creation, how powerful can your god be ... since you were powerful enough to create him/her/it in the first place?