Small Coincidences - Big Picture

It is Sunday morning. I started my day with some scripture, some headlines, some prayer and some coffee, not in that order. Well, that’s my routine every morning, but it is true for Sunday just as much as any other day, so I may as well call it out. Today’s headlines were a mixed bag of Trump and the G7, Kim in Singapore, Lebron or Jordan, and Bourdain. Justify won the Triple Crown. Iran supported the 9/11 hijackers, disguises troops as Syrians, and wants to kill Americans. And there is rain in the forecast – go figure I washed my truck yesterday.

But of all that, what interests me more is the scripture I read combined with a couple items posted to FB, one by an old high school friend and the other by a pastor acquaintance. The three really do not have much to do with each other, except for the underlying tenet of living a Christian life. You see, one item was about the religion Americans want today – fun for the family and easy on the heart, like a good opera. The other item was an admonition to do right by our kids and prepare them for the challenges in life, not fail them by adapting the challenges to them. And the third was Romans 10. Still, when taken in aggregate, you cannot deny the overarching theme.

In the tenth chapter of Romans, Paul is deep into his conversation with the church about the divinity of God, through Jesus Christ, and the adoption of believers into God’s kingdom going beyond blood relation to Abraham or Isaac. But it is near the end of that chapter that we find the challenge.

“And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’ [1] But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our message?’ [2] Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” (Rom 10:15-17, NIV) [1 – Isaiah 52:7][2 – Isaiah 53:1]

Another of my favorite scriptures comes from Isaiah and relates to the passage in Romans.

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’” (Isa 6:8, NIV)

So how does all this tie together, you ask? Well, if you recall I said the three really do not tie together, except as waypoints on our journey to live a good life. They don’t even require one to be a Christian to follow them, either. One speaks about religion versus relationship while another addresses good, plain parenting advice, while the third explains how you or I or anyone can become a child of God despite our parentage. And yet, they are related. Because the love of God leads a man toward relationship over religion, and a parent to teach the best lessons to his child, and the follower to want to spread the Good News that is Christ Jesus.

The love of God also places Trump and Kim and Jordan and Justify and Iran in the appropriate light. As Jesus prayed, we are in this world, but not of it. (John 17:16) Let the disarray of today fall harmlessly around us as we focus on the more important things in life – living and loving by God’s tenets. Because wherever evil rises up to divide and conquer, God’s love was there first to provide for all our needs.

(Photo courtesy of CNN's Jamie Tarabay)