Luke 19:41-42 (NIV) 41As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.
II Corinthians 10:1-6 (NASB) 1Now I, Paul, myself urge you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ--I who am meek when face to face with you, but bold toward you when absent! 2I ask that when I am present I need not be bold with the confidence with which I propose to be courageous against some, who regard us as if we walked according to the flesh. 3For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, 4for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. 5We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, 6and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.
One of the most important issues facing Christians today is learning how to fight in a Christian way, whether in our homes among family members, or in our world between nations. Paul is writing to a church in conflict, but what he says about winning the fight applies to every area of life where there is strife.
My first inclination was to denounce missiles, bombs, and guns, but those are not the weapons Paul refers to here. He is addressing the cause of conflict before we resort to weapons. Conflict and war literally begin in the heart and mind, and with weapons of the flesh: speculation, the rationalization used to convince people that something is worth fighting for; pride, which is every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God; and, thought, the fantasy that we can annihilate conflict. Paul says he is winning in the conflict because he does not rely on weapons of the flesh or world, but takes every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. This is an action and an attitude. The action is to present our solutions to conflict to Christ, hear His verdict, receive His correction, and on confirmation, further instruction.
It is a difficult discipline. Perhaps that is why Paul uses the stringent metaphor of the military. Taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ is also an inner attitude of confidence that Christ has the power to capture for Himself the very center of our lives. Armed with the discipline of taking our solutions to Christ we resist rationalization. Armed with this weapon we also meet pride with humility, and can confront fantasy with the reality of our limited understanding and judgment. Ironically, as we accept those limitations, we are set free to live courageously and to love fearlessly. Armed only with every thought captive, we may appear weak, but don’t let appearances fool you.
Preached by Henry Dobbs Pope October 1, 1989
© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles
No comments:
Post a Comment