Courage in Christ
In our current climate of uncertainty and possibly fear, especially of the unknown, what if real courage lies in Christ. Please hear me out for a minute. We are living in times that we have never seen before. We could never have imagined living in an era of anit-mask protest where everyone is questioning what is normal. I wonder if we took a step back and consider God, the one true living God. Consider the life of Christ and the relevance of the Bible today. Most of us will not know what it means to live without the modern comforts that are world offers, but at some point in our lives, I would hazard a guess to say that we have all experienced a sense of loss or not belonging. In John 1:10, it states, “He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him.” I wonder what our world would look like today if we would recognize Christ as the answer. What if we believe the words in John 14:6, “Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” In today’s world, we have many options, yet we tend to overlook Christ. For some, it may be too simplistic. For others, it may seem like a loss of independence. The truth is we are all interdependent, even when we claim to be independent. We depend on our jobs for money. If we own our business, we rely on others to pay money for our service or product. We rely on the ground for food and water. The world was not created to operate independently but dependent on the things around it. Plants and animals alike depend on the sun, rain, and other elements for growth. Our selfish dependence has harmed our climate, which is evident as our weather patterns change. Man and woman are dependent on each other for reproduction, and we are dependent on one another for connections. John 15:5 puts it this way “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit apart from me, you can do nothing.” My challenge today is for each of us to take a long hard look at ourselves and imagine what our lives will look like if we choose Christ daily. Would we love differently, would we show up differently in the world. Would we create a space for each other to be vulnerable without the fear of humiliation? What would it look like if we showed up each day that we live as a child of God; with the understanding that God is love? What if we gave like God? Would we still have a world today or can we dear to change it by our obedience. Why not try to find courage in Christ because even when we are weak and tired, the strength of Christ will last forever.