The following is an article I wrote for the Waimea Weeky Newspaper "Just a thought" column. It was printed during November.
God Bless,
Jon
Just a Thought
One news item today sadly tells us a boy only 13 years old may be NZ's youngest murderer. Could it be that our acceptance of violence has increased and its time we pushed back hard against accepting violence as a necessary evil? In Richmond a high percentage of youth report involvement in peer related violence, saying it’s normal, natural and a morally acceptable part of their world including its use in defence. Violence seen as a necessary evil.
So what is God’s view on violence? A scary question for Christianity because looking at Church history there have been times when political power plays became more important than following Christ, resulting in terrible violence committed in the name of God (even though the violence was really in the name of power plays).
So what is God’s view on violence? Read the Bible and notice that God is not violent. King David was not permitted to build the new temple – his life had been too violent – his son Solomon would build it. The Bible makes it clear that Jesus Christ is God become human. His life showed us what God is like. Was Jesus violent? No.
Author Brian McLaren reminds us that “Jesus Christ didn’t kill anybody - something that can't be said about Abraham, Moses, David, Paul, or Mohammed (no disrespect intended to any of them) ... Jesus didn't hit anybody. He didn't hate anybody. He practiced as he preached: Reconciliation, not retaliation. Kindness, not cruelty. A willingness to be violated, not violation. Creative conflict transformation through love, not decisive conflict termination through superior weapons. Courageous and compassionate resistance, not violence. Outstretched arms on a cross, not stockpiles of arms, nuclear or otherwise...”
God is not violent and Jesus’ response to violence when he died on the cross is an example of this. Think to the Crucifixion of Christ. A violent action yes, but it was God who was being crucified – not doing the crucifying. God the Son, the all-powerful one, God who could call down legions of angels did not fight back, did not resort to violence, showed no aggressive self-defence.
When Jesus was bullied, he didn’t bully back. Jesus’ message is that to win is to lose and to lose is to win. It is to hand over the shirt as well as the jacket. It is to not retaliate. It is to hunger for and purse ways of peace. It is to teach our children creative, non violent ways of self defence. It is to teach self control of anger and the ability to walk way. Jesus’ message is there are creative alternatives to violence, and that violence is evil and repulsive to God.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Just a Thought - August 2012
The following is an article I wrote for the Waimea Weeky Newspaper "Just a thought" column. It was printed during the last week of August.
God Bless,
Jon
Just a Thought
Wanganui does not want Stuart Murray Wilson living in their town; most of New Zealand doesn’t want him! So, what about God – does God love him?
God’s love extends to all people – there is not one person whom God does not love. In fact, God is in the business of reconciliation and restoration, of reconciling people back to Himself and back to each other. This reconciliation is a tremendous gift of love and forgiveness resulting from the actions of Jesus Christ’s life, death and resurrection. And therefore no one – including someone who has perpetrated despicable acts – is outside of the reach of God's love, and that includes Wilson. God's gift of love, forgiveness, reconciliation and restoration are extended to him as to all people.
But love can’t be forced, it can’t be coerced. God offers the gift of love but if one does not accept that gift it is not actualised. For the gift of love to be complete the receiver of the gift needs to receive it, open it, use it. If I was to give a gift to someone, say a $20,000 pearl necklace (or for a bloke a powerful German made chainsaw), if the receiver never wore the necklace, never used the saw, it is a sign the gift is rejected, never truly received.
God offers love to all people and some decide to reject that love resulting in failed reconciliation with God and society. If a perpetrator has committed despicable acts and does not show remorse and genuine penitence, if they do not ask for forgiveness and admit they were wrong and ask for help so as to not commit the crime again – it is not that God does not love them but that they reject God’s love and forgiveness. And in turn they miss out on the benefits of God’s love and risk grieving the Holy Spirit while hardening their heart.
In the Bible there are stories of people who commit despicable acts. God hates those despicable actions. At one stage king David broke over half of the Ten Commandments in quick succession, including murder. Saint Paul in his younger days did his best to wipe out as many Christians as he could. When these two were confronted with the truth of their wrong actions, both of them were remorseful, they were penitent, they let their hearts become soft and teachable before God and society and they changed. They displayed signs of rehabilitation and eventually were reconciled to society and God.
God’s love extends to all people. The question for us is do we receive God’s gift of love, or do we reject it? I pray and hope we all have hearts that are soft and receptive to God’s reconciling and life giving love.
God Bless,
Jon
Just a Thought
Wanganui does not want Stuart Murray Wilson living in their town; most of New Zealand doesn’t want him! So, what about God – does God love him?
God’s love extends to all people – there is not one person whom God does not love. In fact, God is in the business of reconciliation and restoration, of reconciling people back to Himself and back to each other. This reconciliation is a tremendous gift of love and forgiveness resulting from the actions of Jesus Christ’s life, death and resurrection. And therefore no one – including someone who has perpetrated despicable acts – is outside of the reach of God's love, and that includes Wilson. God's gift of love, forgiveness, reconciliation and restoration are extended to him as to all people.
But love can’t be forced, it can’t be coerced. God offers the gift of love but if one does not accept that gift it is not actualised. For the gift of love to be complete the receiver of the gift needs to receive it, open it, use it. If I was to give a gift to someone, say a $20,000 pearl necklace (or for a bloke a powerful German made chainsaw), if the receiver never wore the necklace, never used the saw, it is a sign the gift is rejected, never truly received.
God offers love to all people and some decide to reject that love resulting in failed reconciliation with God and society. If a perpetrator has committed despicable acts and does not show remorse and genuine penitence, if they do not ask for forgiveness and admit they were wrong and ask for help so as to not commit the crime again – it is not that God does not love them but that they reject God’s love and forgiveness. And in turn they miss out on the benefits of God’s love and risk grieving the Holy Spirit while hardening their heart.
In the Bible there are stories of people who commit despicable acts. God hates those despicable actions. At one stage king David broke over half of the Ten Commandments in quick succession, including murder. Saint Paul in his younger days did his best to wipe out as many Christians as he could. When these two were confronted with the truth of their wrong actions, both of them were remorseful, they were penitent, they let their hearts become soft and teachable before God and society and they changed. They displayed signs of rehabilitation and eventually were reconciled to society and God.
God’s love extends to all people. The question for us is do we receive God’s gift of love, or do we reject it? I pray and hope we all have hearts that are soft and receptive to God’s reconciling and life giving love.
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