Love Your Enemy? Including Osama bin Laden?

While fitting with our Western Culture idea of "justice" the picture to the left doesn't quite fit does it?

Yet, if one were to glance about at some Christian blogs recently, one might think this is the kind of Jesus we believe in.

Certainly looks tough, and perhaps a bit cool...certainly more manly than what we are used to...but is it correct?

With the murder of Osama bin Laden, many Christians are dang near rejoicing.  An evil man has been removed from the planet - and some speculate that he is in hell.

Maybe he is, maybe he isn't.  I'm not going to debate that here.

What I wish to bring up is the command Jesus gave us of "Love Your Enemy."

Now, post this (as I have) on some of those blogs and see what you get.  What you get is a laundry list of Bible verses (predominantly Old Testament) pointing out God's wrath and judgement and "destruction" of evil.  Can't argue with the fact those versus exist.

Yet, what does Jesus tell us?

Love Your Enemy.

As in my previous post, this brings up the question of authority.  Does Jesus have authority, or does the Bible.  One or the other has authority.

I'm going with Jesus on this one.

He says, despite what I would rather do, to love my enemy.  No wiggle room, no grey area...it's right there!  Love your enemy.

Now, I don't really care what you can bring to me in the way of "evidence" in the Bible that you might have found that shows that killing OBL was righteous...because, well, I'm going with Jesus on this one.

Take it up with him.  He gave a commandment - follow it, or don't...but don't try fool yourself: he meant what he said.

As a disciple we are to be like our teacher: Jesus.

How many people did Jesus kill?

In fact, he could have killed someone, and he would have been correct, just, and in his divine right to do so.  Yet, well, he didn't.

Of course, this is where you get a bunch of "what if" questions:  what if we didn't fight Hitler, etc.

Those questions, while they may seem to be a valid question, really are shallow in their context and cause us to rule out history and the relationship of cause and effect.

As for violence, sure it may remove a symptom (ie. OBL, Hitler) but it doesn't and NEVER HAS solved a problem.

Also, if ANYONE can find me a list Jesus gives us of all the exceptions to this rule are, I would love to see it.

It's clear, we are taking matters into our own hands...matters that if we were true to our faith, we would leave up to God.  God tells us to do just that.  Yet, we act as if we don't trust him.

Killing Osama bin Laden...

We call it justice...but does God?

Guess we won't know, we decided not to find out.

Book Review - Story Engineering by Larry Brooks

"From story concept to character development to scene construction and beyond, this blueprint for dynamic storytelling makes putting together a strong novel, memoir, or screenplay easier than ever."

Pretty strong words.

I have read many books on writing from technical to "organic."  While one can find a nugget of info among the many pages, most tend to be a waste of time.

Of the select few that don't waste your time: this is one of them.

I purposely selected this book, thinking that I might get to blast it for it's all talk - no show (as many "how-to's" on writing are), but I was taken by surprise.  Believe me, I wanted to be able to rip this book apart; thinking this was just another book geared toward taking money from your wallet with "vague" ideas, such as create great characters, rather than truly trying to help you.

I don't that chance.  Brooks has provided us writers, and hopefuls, with a valuable book.

Despite how you write (technical vs. organic) there is much to be learned from this book.  Brooks talks about six core competencies that EVERY writer needs to know and incorporate in their novel if they are looking to publish.

And while on a couple we might say, "Duh," it's more than knowing, and Brooks reveals - it's about application and execution of these competencies.

Some may balk at his "blueprint" for writing, claiming it stifles creativity, but as Brooks points out we all have a skeleton and similar make up (blueprint) yet we are all unique.  Thus it can be for a story.

I highly recommend this book as it goes beyond what you should write but how it needs to be written.

(I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.)

On What, or who's, Authority?

It has been an interesting week seeing the different responses "Christians" have been posting in regards to Osama Bin Laden's death.  I put the word in quotes because, well on the interweb it's a bit hard to tell who's being real and who's being funny.

Sadly, many of the comments I have read I truly believe to have come from "Christians."  Christians who are happy, and delighted, at the death of OBL.  Some even speculating it was God's will that he be killed.

Yet, the more I thought about it, the more I couldn't agree with them.

After all, Jesus said it bluntly:  Love your enemy.

I posted this myself.  And then came the shots.  No, not too many were mean, some had the notion I didn't have a firm grasp of Biblical teachings - which I will admit too always, until the day I die (shouldn't we all?)

What was amazing was all the "evidence" they pulled out from the Bible to show how killing your enemy was fine, if not justified.

At first glance, I would almost agree that they had a case.  Yet, that would only be true if not for one thing:  Jesus said, "Love your enemy."

There is no question there.  He does not go on to list exceptions to this rule.  He does not list certain circumstances in which killing one's enemy is okay, if not justified.

Three words, couldn't have been plainer.

He wasn't in the middle of a parable.

He was speaking the truth, he was speaking as one with authority.

Which begs two questions we each must answer: Who has the final authority.  The Bible, or Jesus?  And honestly, you can't follow both.

One MUST have more authority over the other.

Either Jesus has more over the Bible (regardless of what it might say) or does the Bible hover above Jesus and he must fit within the front and back covers?

The other question is this:  Did Jesus mean what he said?

Jesus gave NO indication that this was up for debate or that he was using hyperbole.  So he must have meant it, because if he didn't mean it, why would he say it?

He couldn't lie, he couldn't have steered us incorrectly, or he couldn't have been kidding...in fact he seem to go to some lengths to ensure that we understood "Love your enemy" was EXACTLY what he meant when he said it.

Now we may not like this little fact, this tid bit of information because as a culture (especially American) this does not fit well with our view of "justice."

THAT is another part of the problem.  Our brand of justice DOES NOT fit with God's...in fact there is more evidence of "justice" for God meaning giving and helping, than it does punishing.

For if we were truly more Christ-like, we most likely wouldn't have some of the issues now that we feel the need to "punish."

I'm not saying we chuck the Bible.  But when we read and study the Bible, we must keep in mind who has authority over what.

Jesus has the final word - hence we are Christians.

Now, if something in the Bible (seems to) contradict what Jesus taught, we MUST error on the side of Jesus and do some digging and study to find out if the contradiction truly exists.

Loving your enemy isn't easy.  Of course, Jesus never said it would be.  But it IS what he commands us to do, there is no question about that.

If we are to submit to him and his authority, we must submit to this command.  Regardless of what we FEEL should happen to our enemies.

Following Jesus isn't complicated, he does have a light yoke, but it is difficult - especially in this world.

Peace and Love,

Chris

New Podcast! - Don't Follow Jesus

Title almost speaks for itself...almost!

Don't Follow Jesus Podcast

Thoughts or questions please share them here.

In your Father's arms...

One of my favorite memories as a kid was water skiing with my dad around the lake.

What was special about it was it was before I could ski, so the only way the two of us could water ski was with him holding me in his arms - while holding the rope and maintaining balance.

Out there on the lake it was just the two of us skiing.

If we talked, I don't recall - we didn't need to, the moment was special enough.

If we ever fell, I don't remember.

If we did, it must not have ever bothered me because I remember it being such a thrill!

Sure it was "dangerous", sure I could have gotten hurt...but I had COMPLETE trust in my dad.  He was Dad, and I was in his arms - in his arms I truly believed no matter what, I would be okay.

If I hadn't have trusted Dad, I would have never had that the opportunity to ski with him like that.  I would have missed out on something special.

Can we say the same when it comes to God?  Do we trust him the same way?  Completely...willing to give complete control over to him?

I know I don't.  Not as often as I would like to.

God calls us into many situations that, at first glance, may appear "dangerous" or "scary."  We might get hurt: emotionally, financially (how we view money), spiritually (we might lose a deeply held belief), etc.

We may even "lose" something: friends, comfort, our perceived "safety", status, religion...

Yet, we must trust that despite what we see with OUR eyes, God is calling us into a special experience meant just for us to share with Him.

Sometimes I believe we know EXACTLY what God is calling us into, we just hope that he'll offer us something a bit more safe.

If we just hold out long enough.

Yet, it has been my experience that God is far more patient that us, and while he will offer us other experiences: they aren't necessarily "safer."

I trusted my Dad completely, and still do - God?  eh...that, I must admit, needs (quite) a bit of work.

But I am learning, and growing to trust God...and it only happens when we take that first leap of faith.  God's arms are waiting, ready to catch you and take you on an experience that you will never regret and never forget...you just need to JUMP!

And when God let's go of the rope and you both ski gently close to the dock, you'll never be the same..

"...Our daily bread."

When you pray the Lord's prayer and get to "give us this day, our daily bread" do you really believe that?  Are you really asking for ONLY your daily bread.

I haven't and I don't.

We certainly don't as a culture.  We are a culture of "more" rather than a culture of "enough."

We want more.  I want more.

I don't want my daily bread, I want my weekly bread, my monthly bread, yearly bread, enough bread that I can tuck some away, bread to fall back on, bread insurance to replace my bread if I lose my bread in a fire or if it's stolen, I'll even gamble some of my bread if it means that I might be able to win MORE bread, I'm jealous if others have more bread than I do, or if their bread smells better, or is better looking, or makes better sandwiches, I've left jobs I have loved to ones I tolerate for more bread, I even have a couple of cards that allow me to act AS IF I have bread - for a nominal interest charge, I trade my bread for junk, for crap, for stuff  that within a year after purchase I'll wonder why I bought it in the first place, I have a garage sale to sell said stuff for small amounts of bread so I can make room for more stuff that I buy with my bread, if someone asks me for bread sometimes I pretend I don't have any on me - they might use my bread to buy something I don't think they should have, after all...it's MY bread right?

Next time I pray "give us this day, our daily bread" I'm going to wonder: do I really mean it?

Book Review - Reggie

"Born as a result of a heart-wrenching decision made by his then sixteen-year-old mom, Reggie offers hope and inspiration to those who are stuck in the despair of their broken beginings and are crying out for help." - Back cover from Reggie

Reggie Dabbs’ book doesn’t read exactly like a zero to hero book. Surely, one could argue that being the result of a twenty dollar one-night-stand (as Reggie was) might be considered starting from zero. And for a moment in his life, Reggie DID consider himself just that.
But one day, Reggie realized that he wasn’t a zero. That he was a child of God and that despite what others may think, or how they saw him, he was loved.
Sounds simple, yet sadly that’s isn’t the case for many kids born into similar circumstances; or worse.
That knowledge of being loved, loved by Jesus kept Reggie on a path that now allows him to share this knowledge of love with the kids of the world.

As you read, you’ll find various cross roads for Reggie, to take a different road would have meant a different future - a different outcome. Reggie could have easily become another statistic: either counted among the dead, or imprisoned.
But Reggie didn’t. Reggie knew of his value, his TRUE value, because he knew his Creator. And through this book Reggie offers you the chance to learn about this love as well.

While geared more toward teens, Reggie is book for all who need to remember, that despite our past, our failures, our faults, we are loved by the one who created us.
 
(I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.)