July 18, 2015

“So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Romans 7:21-25

“The talk soon deepened into a discussion on matters more philosophical and moral; and when the priest had left the room, the two young men broke out into generous expressions of admiration, saying truly that he was a remarkable man… Then there fell a curious reflective silence, at the end of which one of the undergraduates suddenly burst out, “All the same, I don’t believe his sort of life is the right one. It’s all very well to like religious music and so on, when you’re all shut up in a sort of cloister and don’t know anything about the real evil in the world. But I don’t believe that’s the right ideal. I believe in a fellow coming out into the world, and facing the evil that’s in it…”
G. K. Chesterton (1874 – 1936) “For All The Saints” volume IV, (p. 245)

Many have lived a life of the monastics — separating themselves from the world. In the process they try to get closer to G*d — but further away from the temptations and the evils of the world. For some people this leads to deep faith — but not all of us can leave the world behind to work solely on our relationship with G*d. Many of us need to face the world straight on in our day to day living, with the hope that we will learn just as much about life, as we do about faith. Martin Luther said, “Faith is a living, daring confidence in G*d’s Grace, so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times.”

You can take that check to the bank and cash it.

Pastor Dave