Up In Arms

As a follow up post to my recent "Armed and Dangerous" Pondering, I feel led to clarify some things. Please bear with me as I ponder further...

What sparked my thoughts about all of the posts on facebook that are "pro guns" and "pro our right to bear arms" is not the lawfulness behind these posts. That is not what I bring into examination. As I said before, I do believe that we humans have a right to own guns, to own them and even to shoot them if we feel the need to defend our homes, or our families. I stated that I do not feel that personally, I could use a gun to kill another human being, or even an animal for that matter. But I am not such a pacifist that I can't see the need for weaponry and force to sometimes be used. I respect the Police, Sheriffs, and others who have chosen to put themselves in harm's way in order for my safety. I also respect anyone who is currently, or has ever been in the military. I know many amazing men who served in the military in different wars, none of whom would share their stories of killing and warfare in a bragging sense. In fact, just the opposite it seems. They did what they felt they had to do, but certainly did not enjoy it. This is not the issue, or the thought that I am pondering.

There was a clip on SNL recently which caught my attention. It was titled "DJesus Unrobed" and is a horrible parody about Jesus' return and His ultimate revenge on mankind. He is shooting us and cutting us to pieces, and it is utterly ridiculous and blasphemous, but as I watched I couldn't help but think that maybe we have had a hand in this wrong thinking...that quite possibly we have misrepresented our Lord to a world who so desperately need Him.

The Christian community has been sending out a message that seems to me (and most likely to anyone outside of our community) to be fear based, and violence promoting. And while I understand the passion behind these posts and comments, I only desire to cause us to take a moment and examine our message. God looks at our hearts. He is also revealed through us, and through our choices and lifestyles which reflect our hearts and ultimately His.

On the one hand, we are in an intense battle with the spirit of the world, and against the killing of babies in their mother's wombs. But on the other, we continue to lift up guns and weapons and anger as the answer to everything else. Is that truly our answer? While we continue to curse our government, and hold up weapons as the solution to the evils that seem to be taking over the world, I wonder if we are losing the power of Jesus in our message? It just seems that through our double message, we might be in danger of sounding a bit hypocritical.

The truth is, our answer came to earth in the form of a man. His life and death brought in a whole new way of thinking, of dealing with the world, and a whole new radical way of living. The testimony of Jesus is a testimony of grace and love, and therein lies the greatest power of all. So instead of being all up in arms, let's lift up our arms to the One who is truly our only Salvation...and lift Him up before others. For we know where our help comes from. And He said that through us, He would be made known.