An Occasional Word, January 23, 2009
02-03-2009Dear Friends:
In the early days of World War II, Winston Churchill was confronted by admirals who did not want to risk their ship of war in the Mediterranean Sea. Churchill growled, “Battleships are made to go under fire.”
We are bombarded with:
recession/depression,
wars and rumors of war,
domestic violence,
crime in places high and low,
neighbors squabbling,
communities squabbling,
the legislature squabbling,
Congress squabbling,
nations squabbling,
and worst of all, churches squabbling — is there any good news?
Yes! Christians were born to go under fire. In the face of a difficult economy, our response is to be generous, as God has been generous with us. In the face of international and/or domestic violence, our response is to “do justice, love kindness, and to walk humbly with God.” We are called to act in the spirit of Christ with compassion and understanding and forgiveness in the face of anger and squabbling. We are to be islands of peace in a world all too hurried and harried. Difficult as these days are, we know we do not face them alone. We know that the living faith we live will make all the difference. We know that the values that last and that sustain are the values of our living faith in Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world.
A long time ago, on a hill just outside Jerusalem, God and the power of evil went to war. Evil hurled every weapon in its arsenal into the battle — mockery, lies, greed, hate, even death. Yet the victory belonged to God. As it was then, so it is now. We possess a faith tested, tempered, and proven in times tougher than these.
Followers of Christ were born to go under fire.
Faithfully,
Charles N. Crutchfield
