The (Impossible) Alternative
Looking at world situations, especially those in the Middle East, it is easy to become discouraged. What kind of positive impressions pop up when we have such grim news? Civil war... endless bombings... unrelenting cruelty...
It all seems impossible ... until we remember that there is an alternative. It's costly and probably impossible in our own strength.
Jesus ... Yeshua... Isa... However you wish to pronounce his name came with another approach. His is not the fanfare of trumpets, of PR spin and living on the back of popularity contests. Instead, his direct approach cuts deep.
"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave - just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Matthew 20:25-28
The Great Reversal ! Who actually wants to become a servant? or a slave? Who wants to give his / her life for others?
Here's the alternative. How many kingdoms (empires) fell in the last 100 years? (Count them: Belgian, French, Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, German, Turkish, Italian, Russian, Japanese and English - eleven empires)
How long has the Other Kingdom, the Kingdom of the Great Reversal been overcoming the very gates of hell?
Living it out, in prayer, meditation, quiet servant-hood, humble generosity and unquenchable joy - that's the impossible alternative!
It all seems impossible ... until we remember that there is an alternative. It's costly and probably impossible in our own strength.
Jesus ... Yeshua... Isa... However you wish to pronounce his name came with another approach. His is not the fanfare of trumpets, of PR spin and living on the back of popularity contests. Instead, his direct approach cuts deep.
"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave - just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Matthew 20:25-28
The Great Reversal ! Who actually wants to become a servant? or a slave? Who wants to give his / her life for others?
Here's the alternative. How many kingdoms (empires) fell in the last 100 years? (Count them: Belgian, French, Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, German, Turkish, Italian, Russian, Japanese and English - eleven empires)
How long has the Other Kingdom, the Kingdom of the Great Reversal been overcoming the very gates of hell?
Living it out, in prayer, meditation, quiet servant-hood, humble generosity and unquenchable joy - that's the impossible alternative!
Oooo! This fits right in with our Sunday school lesson this morning from Daniel 2--the statue representing empires from Babylon on and the Rock not cut with human hands that crushed it. It also reinforces the novel I finished this afternoon by Stephanie Landsem. The Well is about the daughter of the woman at the well in John 4, but the theme is the kingdom of the Restorer (yet another name for Jesus) that is worth dying for. We sell ourselves short when we choose a short-lived earthly kingdom over the eternal. Thank you for making me think.
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