Christ for all

Courtesy Prison Fellowship International

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" - Galatians 3:28 (NIV)

More and more often these days, Christians are accused of being prejudiced against gays and lesbians, women, and those of other faiths. They are accused of wanting to impose a system where the tenets of the Bible are obeyed and enforced with an iron fist.

In some cases, those making those kind of accusations would be correct.

Prejudice such as racism and religious discrimination is one of the biggest ills in the world, even in the church. Bigotry has been used throughout history to enslave people, figuratively through laws or physically through chains, to bring them down, or in general, make them second- or third-class citizens. There is the racism that was prevalent in the United States that in some sectors, still exists today. There is the denial of freedom to choose and practice your own faith that is rampant throughout much of the Middle East and other parts of the globe.

However, in Christ, for those who actually follow His teachings, that prejudice is history, part of a sinful past that has been abolished by the saving blood of our Savior. For those believers who allow Christ to take hold in their lives and actually strive to follow the teachings outlined in God's Word, the Bible, it is a freedom from bigotry that can ensnare both the people they are directing it toward and themselves as well.

Yes, Christians can call out sin amongst in the world. However, they are called to love others as God loved them (see Ephesians 5:1-2), and follow Christ's example. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus called out the Pharisees and other religious leaders of the day for their sins. However, for others, he simply loved them, welcoming them and healing them of the their physical and spiritual wounds caused either by bad teaching or their own sinfulness.

The evangelist Billy Graham is one such person. During his more than 60 years of active ministry, he was able to preach in closed countries such as Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union during the days of communism, and meet with leaders such as North Korea's Kim Il Sung and other presidents because he simply lived and preached the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ with no other agenda. During a crusade to India in 1956, his first evangelistic trip to somewhere besides the United States or Western Europe, he made the following the distinction about Jesus, as noted in his autobiography, "Just As I Am:"

"I am not here to tell you about an American or a Britisher or a European. I am here to tell you about a Man Who was born right here in your part of the world, in Asia. He was born at the place where Asia and Africa and Europe meet. He had skin that was darker than mine and He came to show us that God loves all people. He loves the people of India and He loves you."

Jesus Christ is for all people, regardless of who they are and what they have done. All you have do is reach out to Him, because He is reaching for you. If you have questions or would like to talk about Christ, please feel free to contact me.

Links in the news

• Saint Patrick, whose days we mark on Saturday, was a practical theologian and social activist, a man truly ahead of his time.
• The Islamic-led government in Sudan, following last July's succession by its mainly Christian and animist southern regions, has decreed that all Christians must leave the country or suffer the consequences.
• Mail deliverers in Israel outside of Tel Aviv are refusing to deliver Hebrew-language New Testaments being given away by a unknown group.

Children are a blessing...

Source: E! Online

"Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him." - Psalm 127:3 (NLT)

Yesterday morning, Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar announced on NBC's "Today" show that they are expecting their 20th child, due sometime in the spring.

With that news, the critics have come out with their knives sharpened, claiming everything from spousal abuse (from Michelle Duggar being pregnant so often) to a strain on resources. Some have even said that nations should put limits on the number of kids a couple can have to save the planet.

This is just silly, and something I addressed in my old blog when another green concern was spoken with the family of Jon and Kate Gosselin:

A few years ago I saw an article about whether the family of Jon and Kate Gosselin, they of "Jon and Kate Plus 8" fame, is actually green, or environmentally friendly. Throughout the article, environmental experts weighed in that even though mom Kate Gosselin has done things like buying organic food whenever possible and recycling, and that the family has installed solar panels on their new home, they may still not be doing enough because the eight children are creating their "carbon footprints."

So say bits of the article:

One of the reasons for the lack of greenness is the emission of carbon dioxide.
 

Sure, we are to take care of the Earth, as God had Adam do in the Garden of Eden (see Genesis 2:15). But we are not to regard the Earth as so high that people are second or lesser options compared to it. The only thing or being that is be rated higher than people, according to God, is God Himself and His Son, Jesus Christ (these are tied in Jesus saying of the two greatest commandments).

And sure, raising children is hard work, as any parent will tell you. But we just have to cling to what Philippians 4:13 says about persevering:

"I can do everything through him who gives me strength." (NIV)

If the eight children depicted in the show lived in Britain, they would each emit about 750 tons of carbon dioxide over a lifetime, (Rosamund) McDougall (policy director of the U.K.-based Optimum Population Organization) explains. (American carbon-dioxide emissions per capita are about double that of Britain's.)

"What's more, if the eight children each had eight children, not taking into account the fact that eight husbands or wives would be absorbed from other families, there would be 64 grandchildren, each emitting 750 [metric tons] over a lifetime," says McDougall.

Another part of the quoted this:

"No matter what this family does, it could NEVER go green," writes one blogger on Treehugger.com. "The most green families are those with one child or none. So this family has absorbed the CARBON FOOTPRINT OF 8 FAMILIES. This is very greedy!!!"

However, one thing we all sorely need to understand is that children are not to be a burden, according to Scripture. They are not damaging to the environment just because they exist. Children, instead, are a blessing.