Sunday, July 25, 2004

Amen, Brother!

Ah, Sunday.  Such an interesting day of the week-- especially here in T-town.  The church here began a new college class today.  It was interesting, and I'm sure it will prove to be an educational experience for all involved.  That's a diplomatic and optimistic way of putting things, I think. :)  Let's just say that I had to go quoting some sermon on the mount.  One of my friends once inspired me to try and memorize the entire sermon on the mount, just in case one day I'm ever thrown into a Chinese prison and not allowed to have a Bible. ;) 
But what really touched me today was a prayer that one of the newer members led.  His family placed membership while I was in another country, I believe, so I haven't really gotten the chance to know him.  As he began, one of the first things he prayed for was protection for our troops overseas.  I'm all for praying for the troops, but it makes me sad when people stop there.  I think it is very important to pray for the innocent victims of war, as well.  So I anxiously waited to see if anything would follow this brother's comment on the troops, and I was pleasantly surprised!  He added, "And Lord, you teach us to pray for our enemies, so I want to pray that those people who want to do us harm.  Maybe this fighting will end and we can all get along."  That did my heart a lot of good.  I very much needed to hear that at that point this morning. 
Sometimes I think Christians don't take Jesus seriously enough.  One of the major points mentioned in Mere Discipleship is that Christians today oftentimes don't think Jesus really means what He says-- that His ways are not applicable to reality.  That is tragic and all too typical.  But I am encouraged to know and see that there are some who keep the ideal in mind and aren't satisfied with settling for less. 

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