Good news and rocks.

So many things fly through my head…so many topics that seem important, at least to me. I find it very difficult to settle on one and write. Here is the one at the forefront tonight. The church in this century seems so far from the purpose we were created for. What was that purpose? It was to go into every part of the entire world and preach the good news from God to every human being. It wasn’t to make ourselves gatekeepers or develop checklists for the human race to follow, or immerse ourselves in social action, or lobby political parties or protest for or against various causes. Does this offend you and your cause? Good! Jesus said He was a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. The Apostle Paul made it clear that no man who goes to war entangles himself with the affairs of this life. It’s a pretty broad and far reaching statement. It applies to all areas of life. To politics, finances, relationships and yes even religious observances. To offend means to cause to stumble, to be tripped and lose balance. The majority of us, including myself, need to trip and lose our balance. We need to fall down so Jesus can pick us up. The problem with so many of our conversions lies in the fact that we knelt of our own accord and then picked ourselves up and went our own way again. The only difference was a little Jesus speak added to our façade. Then we wonder when we have to go through painful breaking processes. We wonder where God is and why this is happening to us. When all along He is refining us and setting us free from the existence that we mistakenly call life. Given a choice and with much hindsight, I would rather let God break me. I want stumble over the stone. Many reasons come to mind, but one stands out. Jesus finished the statement above by saying that whoever would fall on that stone, they would be broken. But upon whoever that stone fell, it would grind that person to powder. Have you stumbled? Are you offended?