I've become so relevant I'm irrelavant!

The new Relevant magazine arrived at the townhouse today (no I don’t have a subscription to this extremely trendy and somewhat irrelevant magazine), an obvious product of Julies magazine subscription kick. The cover had a picture of Derek Webb on it looking very much like the poster boy for relevancy and authenticity that he has become. The title plastered over the bottom half of the cover read "Friend or Foe" as if to catch the reader’s attention and place a fear into their mind that there might actually be an enemy out there that they haven’t heard of.

Upon completion of reading the article I felt the familiar polarization of an unbalanced society rattling around in my head.

How often have you heard someone say, “I don’t see anything wrong with having a glass of wine with a meal you know, its good for the stomach (or so Paul says)…just as long as you not going out and getting bombed or anything.” Once again the polarization and imbalance in a society leads to statements that are continuously followed by disclaimers. In case you missed it, the disclaimer in that last sentence is the fact that folks feel obligated to remind everyone that they are not advocating going out and getting drunk (something you obviously would infer from someone telling you its ok to have a glass of wine with your meal) by talking about wine.

So the three main points I am touching on in this entry are polarization, imbalance and disclaimers. I do not plan to expound much on any one thought in particular simply because it would take way to much time and you probably wouldn’t care to read all of what I have to say on those subjects.

Why are we as a people so imbalanced in everything? A woman was drug to the street by her accusers and thrown at the feet of Jesus, her accusers looking on in eager anticipation for the condemning words of “Guilty!” to be spoken over her. Interestingly enough Jesus doesn’t speak much of her sin, He only tells her to go and sin no more. I often wonder about what she did after that encounter. Did she go and sin no more (I seriously doubt it)? Did He say more to her than is recorded in this passage? Does it really matter?

I do know that Christ took each situation He encountered and dealt with it in a very personal and careful way. If anyone knows of our fragileness it is most definitely God.

It is my desire to walk in even a small percentage of the grace Jesus walked in when dealing with people. I know full well how I like to think I have all the answers and that I am right in all of those answers. The reality is, as C.S. Lewis puts it, I have seen only “shadows and broken images”.

Is Derek Webb the enemy of the Church? Probably not. The more probable culprit is the “intellect” that tells us we have God figured out and understand His ways.

I would rather sit in awe of this great God (He created galaxies!!) than sit in contempt of Him.

Yes, sometimes I will use this blog as a soapbox. I will step down from it for now. Let me know any thoughts you might have about these subjects.