Living Alive

Admittedly, I don’t care for politics. I’ve never followed the Kennedy family. It’s a loss that Sen. Ted Kennedy is gone.

But what interests me the most is the testimony of so many ordinary people who mention things Ted Kennedy did for them. Many of these examples seem to me to be rather small fixes that were unreachable for the ordinary person, but very achievable for a US Senator.

The fact that Ted Kennedy did so many small things for so many people seems extraordinary to me in our times.

My impression of politicians is that cater to those who run in the highest circles of society: the billionaires of business, the captains of capitalism, the pros of politics.

That Kennedy would care about the people in the smallest circles is genuinely American – yes, authentically Christian.

I’m more interested, still, in this: how many people do I go out of my way to help? Do I reach out to those who are not in my “circle”?

Honestly, do you try to help those who can never return the favor?

Maybe, until we go beyond our own *circles* we will never know the God who is willing to circle everyone – even you & me – with His ever-widening love.

VICTORY
There’s a phrase in the New Testament that returns to my mind whenever I get down… “More than conquerors.”
I’ve never thought of myself as a “winner” – I’ve never played on a team that won a championship. I’ve never won “1st Place” in anything in my life.
But Romans 8:37 tells me unequivocally “In all these things, we are more than conquerors.”

Christ won the victory over sin & death by his death and resurrection. So, that’s a victory over every obstacle we can ever face.

Victory reminds me of the story of the Roman Emperor, Constantine who converted to Christianity – and won a great victory in battle.

Constantine, in a time of personal struggle, wondered which god to pray to, and remembered that his emperor father had prayed to a single god in times of struggle, likely the high god of the sun, Helios. Looking at the sun, Constantine caught a vision from the True God, a vision of a cross with these words on it: ”in hoc signo vinces“(Latin) or “in this [sign]you will conquer.”

Afterwards, the believing emperor commanded all his troops to bear the sign of the cross (technically, the Chi Rho, 2 Greek letters crossed) on their shields. They were victorious from then on.

In learning about Jesus Christ and trusting in Christ, the Emperor Constantine won an important military victory, but more importantly, Constantine brought about the conversion of the empire, to become the Holy Roman Empire, ushering in the age of wide acceptance of Christ.

Victory is not a “far off” thing. This is a promise that is here and now, for you. There’s no challenge that you face that won’t be improved by the hope, the upbuilding, the strength of the knowledge that you are, already, “more than a conqueror, in Christ”(Romans 8:37). For, just as in the resurrection, God raised Jesus to new life, so in the cross, we will conquer, by the grace of God.

Resources for the week of 8/23/09: Church of the Resurrection; wikipedia.org; Smithsonian.

Grace is that amazing gift of God which does for us what we cannot do for ourselves – putting us in right relationship with God. Some pople have said, “When I think of grace I think of… Love; forgiveness, free (but not cheap); unconditional love.”

All of these are good. Grace is part of God’s own heart, that compassionately offers us what we do not deserve and cannot earn: God’s love.

Many of us suffer needless worry, doubt, fear, self-pity, mental & spiritual “illness” due to a lack of understanding, accepting & realizing God’s GRACE !! “O Lord, I believe, help my unbelief” (as a man said to Jesus).

What grace can do in the face of failure:
Graces lifts us up when we gall into the pit. Grace reminds us that our “net worth” is a sacred worth found first in the virtue of our being god’s own children.

What grace can do in the face of illness:
Grace heals us spiritually first. That is the basis for true physical healing. Grace gives us patience – after all, when you’re in the hospital, they don’t call you a “patient” for no reason – patience is part of our identity, when we are unwell. It’s an understanding that helps us move toward healing. God’s grace is a healing balm.

What grace can do in the face of death:
Recently I sat with a family who’s loved one had died. Their faith in God & assurance of God’s grace kept them strong in the face of a painful loss. How? Their faith rests in the grace of God who assures them that their loved one is in heaven (paradise) & that one day they will be reunited in pure love.