"Balls"
In the beginning, the church had it right.
Jesus won the fight; he brought us out of the dark of night
and to His great delight we walked in light.
We followed Christ's holy vision,
But by some poor decision came great division.
We looked for a reason to hate, to desecrate and annihilate.
Devoid of grace, we judge on race
and spit in one another's face.
Without apology, we bash others' political ideology
We look down and harass people who are "lower" class.
Somewhere down the line our hearts were infected.
Barriers were erected and, in essence,
the greatest commandment was rejected.
Now here we are, judging and hating what makes us admirable.
Valuable. Lovable.
I believe Jesus calls us all to have the balls to break down these walls.
To forget about his abnormality, or her nationality,
my personality, your legality,
or even their sexuality.
We've got to abandon this bigoted mentality,
this logical fallacy, and all the verbal and mental brutality...to embrace His reality. His love. His love that rebuilds us, fulfills us.
Heals us, reveals things to us.
That gives us hope and helps us cope.
His love that changes our hearts and gives us new starts,
that makes amends and above all else transcends.
By: Charlie Kenny
The above poem (called "Balls") was written a little under a year ago. Back in December, I was hanging out with some friends - Christian friends, I might add - at someone's house watching the 2nd Season of some show. As we watched the plot unfold on the screen, I found myself profoundly distracted and disturbed by the conversations that peppered our time together.
Stupid Asian drivers. Dirty Mexicans crossing our borders. Fags. Crazy liberals ruining our country. Whoreish classmates.
...Excuse me?
I refrained from adding to these exchanges; I was simply paralyzed with curiosity. These people grew up in the Church. They go to youth group every week, and have small groups. None of them drink. None of them do drugs. I'm fairly certain they're all virgins. They don't swear. They're all just honest, hardworking young men and women. They follow all the rules. How could such things be coming out of their mouths?
Then it hit me. (Not that I didn't know "it" before, but the gravity of "it" had finally sunk in.)
It never has been.
Romans 2-4 talks about how the written Law of the Old Testament is no longer the final standard for righteousness. The Law is a tool for self-assessment, and is truly a moral code worthy of adherence, but it is not what will save us. Rather, our acceptance of His sacrifice for us. It is our trust in Jesus - His character, His ways, His promises, His accomplishments and how these things affect us -that saves us.
Anyone can follow rules. Anyone can pursue a disciplined lifestyle. Athletes do it. Scholars do it. Artists do it. Businesses do it. Governments do it. Ethics. Preparation. Assembly. Exercise. It's nothing new.
What makes Christians different - in theory - is the unconditional love they have learned to pour out on others. Jesus said it, Himself, "all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:35)
No comments:
Post a Comment