7.8- I hope we can say we stand with Jesus rather than standing on one side or the other of any division

 7.8-

I hope we can say we stand with Jesus rather than standing on one side or the other of any division among God’s people that is based on the opinions of men rather than the clear teaching of Jesus.

This requires courage.  War test our courage.  Paul ask the church to pray for his own courage in the times he was called to serve.

Courage is needed to face an enemy who is intent on killing innocent children.  The school situation of Uvalde is tragic.  Law officers nearby when children are calling 911 to ask for help and no one comes.  Courage is required.  A sword may be needed to stand for justice and stop evil violence.  This requires sacrifice and courage.

In an evil war another kind of monster is the monster who stands by and does nothing.

I like what Jason Nobles wrote about these times of war and his own commitments.

I have no expectation for a people who do not first know God to value the morality that comes from knowing Him.  I am prepared to live among a violent and vile generation for the hope that one or two might come to know God and be saved. 

My task in this present war is to live in covenant obedience to the God who gave me new life through my baptism in the Holy Spirit.  When seeking the right pathway in the fog of war, I do not look to the behaviors and choices others have made.  I seek the deep truth found in the heart of God.  The way of Jesus applied in war is truly a narrow road. 

Though repeated demands have been made, I have not given my allegiance to a human party, organization, religious denomination, or institution.  I have no doubt about where I belong.  I belong to Jesus, and I will go where he takes me. My allegiance in this present war is to the God revealed in Jesus, the Christ. 

I hesitantly acknowledge that I am in a war.  Hesitant because of the profound and often treatable ways war impacts our lives.  It is a war rattling us here at home, and at the same time raging around the world.  I do not believe I live in a little pleasant corner of the world where dark things do not roam.  If I am indeed in a war, it is because war has come to me.  

If, and when, God brings the opportunity to my tent, to actively speak or act in covenant obedience to him, I pray now for the courage and wisdom to do so in ways that follow God’s leading, that reflect the way of Jesus, and bring glory to God.  If that happens and some victory in battle comes of it, that does not make me a hero; it glorifies God.  And, if that happens and I lose, that does not make God a loser. 

God says, be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations.  He breaks the bow and shatters the spear.  Contrary to popular belief, love does not win.  God always wins. 

You may think different on these matters.  I do not judge you, for my judgment means nothing.  God will judge us both.  His judgment means everything.  Yes, the Lord will deal with them, but he will also deal with me.  Lord, have mercy on us all. 

Perhaps it is true that war turns us into monsters, but God is seeking to rescue the world from what war makes us into.  The gospel of God reminds us, and announces to the world, that Jesus died for monsters.  He came to the world full of war so the monsters made of war could find the hope in repentance. 

The angels in heaven do not rejoice when laws are changed, they rejoice when sinners repent.  Heaven rejoices when hearts melt before the Lord, and when the knowledge of God produces the fruit of righteousness.   

War, with all its horror, reveals the exquisite value of the gospel—which was made for terrible times.  The gospel is like the last spark in a world that has grown cold.  And so, we boldly proclaim the gospel because there in that story, in a little corner of the world at war, we believe it holds the spark that will light the fires of hope.