12/23, Fourth Wednesday of Advent
A child shall be born for us,
and he will be called God, the Almighty;
every tribe of the earth shall be blest
in him.
Two things that stand out here for
me. First, the reminder of the
juxtaposition of the Almighty God coming as a lowly baby. Second, every person shall be blest. Sometimes we forget that all people are
called to be Christian. We try not to
talk about it because we do not want to offend others. There's another religion that has no such
qualms and is growing much faster because of it. If only we had their zeal, without the methods
of forced conversion. God, the Almighty,
came in peace as a baby for all people.
We should likewise spread His message in peace and love to all peoples.
O Emmanuel, king and lawgiver, desire of
the nations, Savior of all people, come and set us free, Lord our God.
Nice. I like your dedication to these every day reflections and the insight.
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a good point too. I think, however, that by our accepting nature as Christians because we are called not to judge many times in the Old and the New Testaments (let him without sin cast the first stone) we by nature fall into the not wanting to offend area. It’s finding that balance of not judging and acceptance that becomes so hard for anyone and getting there is only through God’s grace I believe. I’m still looking for it I know. Setting the example in life is the best bet to drawing in others and not being afraid to take opportunities to witness when they arise without hitting someone over the head with the Bible the way some do or zealot Muslims want to beat people with their Koran. I have found when people get too drawn in to what they interpret as “the truth” and drown in their religion rather than faith and what Jesus’ message is for everyone that people get turned off no matter what the faith concerned is and why so many people are turning away from God these days. Same reason people are sick of politics; the whole my way or the highway approach. People will see the truth in our zeal through our actions and how we treat others. That’s why Islam scares so many. Now is the time to be good Christians because “they we know we are Christians by our love” and hopefully be saved. Just my opinion.