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Scripture for the day: 2 Corinthians 11:3 "But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."
Thought for the day: I struggle sometimes with concepts and idea that seem foreign or complex to me. Much of the time the struggle comes simply from not having enough knowledge to overcome it. For instance, learning the computer has been fun but difficult sometimes (and I've not scratched the surface of what the home computer can do). I love it when I put some command into it, in running some marvelous program, only to have it do exactly what I intended. I can get pretty frustrated when I know without a doubt what I want it to do and the machine is just too stupid to do it. I'm looking forward to the day when they invent one of these things that will do what I intend rather than what I say. That will be a real computer!
Sometimes I struggle with other concepts in life as well; things not so easily overcome. I don't feel too badly about this because, as I read Paul's writings to his churches, I see him wrestling with the same sorts of things. He spent much time in prayer and meditation over just what it meant to be a follower of Christ, as evidenced by the teachings in his letters. I think he asked himself questions like: "If I'm to live as a Christian, how will that make a difference for me physically? How will I treat this body God has given me?" "As a Christian, how am I to work out the teachings of Jesus concerning my neighbor?" "What is proper and improper in worship and fellowship, given Jesus' teachings and our own desire to avoid becoming like the Pharisees?" And many other questions; ones we still must answer for ourselves today.
Today's scripture puts the whole answer in six words - "the simplicity that is in Christ." Listen, the cross is central to the gospel of Jesus Christ and must be central to our thinking. Until it is, we're looking at Jesus from a philosophical rather than theological viewpoint. Everything goes through the cross. And the cross represents suffering and death but also triumph and life. The cross wasn't the end but the beginning. From it they took the lifeless body of the Son of God and placed that body in a cold, dark tomb where it could wait as the Savior defeated sin and death and hell. It's as simple as that. Because He did that for me, I can order all my thinking around the idea of victory over sin and death and hell for myself. I don't provide it but I can receive it.
What does that do when I'm tempted? I can resist because of the victory. What about when I'm confused? I can go back to the cross and remember the victory won there, knowing the same triumph will come to me as well. The cross provided the power to overcome confusion and temptation; it's as simple as that. I don't have all the answers to life's questions; I don't even know all the questions. There are philosophers and scientists who could argue rings around me. But I know this and on it depend; Jesus Christ died for me to set me free from the confines of sin in this present life and I no longer have to struggle every day with it; it's as simple as that.
I love to grapple with questions of theology and the subtle meanings behind many of the concepts we read in Paul's letters, discussing how they play out in our lives. But when all is said and done the whole question comes down to this: God said it, and He said it simply because He knew how quickly we get confused. Our part, my part, is to rest in the finished work of the Savior on the cross, believe that it was for me and act on that belief.
Now go take on your world. - Bill