JR. Forasteros - July 6, 2014
Obadiah
In the face of tragedy, will we be agents for healing, or will we stand by and do nothing? The answer isn't found in the moment of the tragedy, but in the choices we make leading up to it. God spoke to Obadiah in the wake of the most devastating tragedy in Israel's history - the Babylonian conquest of Judah. Obadiah addressed not God's people, but their neighbors, the Edomites, who refused to aid Judah, and even aided the Babylonians in sacking Jerusalem. In God's warning to them, we hear a similar warning to enact justice now, in the small, every day choices we make.
From Series: "Major/Minor"
We live in turbulent times - from endless war to a slowly recovering economy to a looming educational crisis and ineffective government. While we take care of our lives one day at a time, we can't help but sense a storm gathering on the horizon. In this, we are much like the Jewish people who lived at the time of the prophets. Surrounded by forces outside their control, God called them to remain faithful in their daily life, to trust him to handle the big stuff. God spoke through prophets. Because their books are so short, we call them the Minor Prophets. But while their writings are short, their message has major implications for our lives today. Welcome to Major/Minor!
More Messages From JR. Forasteros...
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What is your greatest fear? Usually, we go to phobias – which by definition are irrational. But what really keeps you up at night? Fear for your safety or the safety of your family? Wondering how to make ends meet? Insecurities about your job performance, or maybe your abilities as a friend, spouse, or parent?
I want to talk about power and weakness.
We spend a lot of our lives trying to minimize risk, to protect ourselves, to keep from being vulnerable.
We’re vulnerable. We don’t like to admit that. And we want to avoid that vulnerability. We want to protect ourselves and those we love.
But to be human is to risk. We’re not fully human unless we are vulnerable. If you teach your child to walk, they’re going to fall down. If you send them into the world, they’re going to get hurt. You COULD just never give them any power of their own – never teach them to walk or speak or feed themselves or educate them in any way. You could exercise full authority over them and keep them safe.
To take away their power like that is to keep them from being fully human. In fact, the only way to raise a child well is to give them power, which then opens them to risk. To deny someone power, to take away their God-given authority to act in the world is to deny their humanity.
We can’t exercise our God-given authority in the world unless we choose to be vulnerable as well.
Following God means choosing to risk, to open ourselves to God, to our neighbors, to the world. That’s scary, but God is bigger than our fears. Today is not about avoiding risk, but embracing risk and trusting that God is faithful to bring life when we are faithful to follow his calling on us.
