December 21, 2013

Living the life of an exile?

Baruch 2:14-15 LXX

O Lord, hear our prayer and our petition, and for Your own sake deliver us, and grant us mercy before those who have carried us into exile, in order that the whole earth may come to know that You are the Lord our God, for Israel and his descendants are called by Your name.

Personal Challenge...

We, the Church, the followers and children of the living God, have been carried into exile just as the Israelites of old were. How can I say this when I can look around and see all the freedom and wealth that abounds around me? Because as Paul claimed in his letters we are not of this world anymore, we are now of the kingdom of god and living here as ambassadors for Him. So this verse is so very relevant for us today. We, the Church, especially in the developed world, need His deliverance. We need His mercy before those around us who do not know Him so that the whole world may know that He is the Lord our God.

This has become more evident to me this week than any other time in my life. We have had this whole uproar about how a major media network is treating the leader of Duck Dynasty for expressing his spiritual beliefs. I stand on the side of this man who should have the right to stand up for and articulate his belief in God. I laud him for having the guts to do so knowing that the politically correct world would attack him. More power to him. However, where I have become truly convicted about this is how vocal the Christian community has become about this all the while remaining silent about the many more atrocious events that are going on around us throughout the world: millions of babies being murdered for the purpose of free choice and convenience; the many Christians around the world that are being persecuted and killed while everyone looks the other way; the victims of poverty, abuse, natural disasters, and the list goes on that spurn us to write a check, but not roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty helping them; the billions and trillions of dollars being spent on stuff and sports and Hollywood elites while more and more people around the world and in our own neighborhoods go to bed hungry and cold every night. It all brings me to tears.

And as I write this I find myself doing all of this as well and hearing the Holy Spirit remind me that I too have become comfortable in my exile and am taking on the practices of the land in which I am captured. God, forgive me! God, deliver us from this exile! God, grant us mercy before those who have carried us into exile! God, change us so that we might do Your work in a way that will help those around us come to know that You are the Lord our God!