Another year has passed and it is
time again for me to take "pen in hand" to compose some thoughts
regarding today's date 6 years ago. For some of you, this will be the sixth
such email that you have received from me. For others of you, this will be the
first. If you are in the latter category, you should know that I like to take a
few minutes on the anniversaries of certain events (September 11 being one of
them) to reflect upon what has happened, what we can learn from it, and how we
can continue to move forward as a part of the kingdom of God. Whether you read
my thoughts is entirely up to you, but I thought that you might be interested
in them, which is why you are receiving this email.
It has been six years since the
world trade center attack. That is a quarter of my life. My Mom is a first
grade teacher and she shared with me not long ago that when she was teaching
her first graders about September 11 it was a historical event as distant to
them as the signing of the declaration of independence. So it is really all a
matter of perspective. how we view the event in the United States six years
later is significant, but what is even more significant is how we live in light
of it.
There are many heroes of September
11 who risked and lost their lives so that others might live. Can we say as
much of the church today? Yes September 11 was indeed a tragedy and I still
mourn for those who lost their lives. But is it not at least equally, if not
significantly more tragic that 30,000 children die every single day from
entirely preventable causes (lack of food, lack of clean drinking water, and
diseases related to these shortfalls)? Can we, as followers of Jesus and
members of the kingdom of God, sit here in the comfort of our country and think
that it isn't our problem? Not if we are serious about following Christ we
can't.
Mourn those who have been lost,
but don't stop there. Bring life to those who still live. Bring hope to those
who don't have any hope. Be a part of God's kingdom. Live a life of love and compassion that
brings His kingdom to earth. Fight against the pain and suffering in this world
through the love and power of God and his story. If you have received this sort
of email from me before you will recognize this tone for it is not a new song
for me. It is one that I continue to sing as often as I can because I believe
it is what this life is all about and I believe that we do not get it and we do
not live it.
We recently opened a youth center
in Oroville and have four hundred different kids walking through our doors
every week. If you want to find pain, brokenness, heartache, and hopelessness
you don't have to look very hard. The purpose of the youth center is simply to
provide a safe place for kids to be where they feel loved. I think that is the
sort of thing Jesus is about. He isn't about church buildings, programs, war
rhetoric, and political agendas. He's about the redemption of creation and
everyone that is a part of it. Remember the past, but do it by living fully in
the present, and let it equip you to move into the future. Don't let this day,
or any other go by without love. Bring Heaven to earth by loving the world
around you. Be a part of the amazing work of the redemption of creation.
I was reading in Ephesians this
morning and four verses really stood out to me. I see a correlation between
them and my other thoughts this morning so I thought I would share them with
you as well...
Ephesians 2:14-18
"For he himself is our
peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of
separation, having abolished in his flesh the enmity, that is, the law of
commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in himself one new man
from the two, thus making peace, and that he might reconcile them both to God
in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And he came
and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For
through him we both have access by one spirit to the Father."
