In the midst of tidbits of news about our progress with the crusade, I feel it a good time for me to take a break and post a short message to inspire you, based on a weakness I am starting to overcome.

We all know there is no shortage of bad news in the world today. Some of it is truly tragic, while much of it is inflated and dramatized based on a growing addiction the public has for dramatic trajedy. What will this mean to us if the world stays on it’s current course? Perhaps, with a growing dissatisfaction for the multi-channel inundation of negativity, the church may rise as the last remaining credible publisher of good news. Would’t that be nice? However, before that can happen, two things need to take place:

1) People have to seriously recognize the addictive power of despair and negativity in their own lives, and how the media works hard to feed the habit.
2) The chuch must present the gospel as newsworthy to the world without tiring, because at some point, they will be ready to listen once again.

You hear about a divide taking place culturally and politically in the world? That is directly related to the news you and I hear day in and day out. You may think it is the other way around, but in reality it both. It is a vicious cycle forming in the south Atlantic of our souls like a hurricane. Division and promises of more division and turmoil is what sells newspapers and therefore that is what gets published– and perpetuates based on our impaired expectations. While people fight to remain optimistic and hopeful, the awareness of the difficulty to do so must become acute, so we can be rise above the dissolving standard.

As my own personal intrigue and a desire to reconcile has taken me down a path toward political argument with those who rely on cynicism toward groups and events more than fact, I have found myself conflicted as to how I should best spend my time engaging the world in spiritual dialog. The conflict is really more that just time spent. Also at stake is my own sense of mission in life. To seek an objective position in a polarized world requires a lot of work, and even then, no one can escape trusting some sources over others based on a bit of intuition. Although many Christians concede at this juncture, the problem is not solved by disengaging from politics and issues where there is exists a vaccum of godly leadership. So for those of us who remain in the fray, we have to learn fact while retaining the ability to inject hope, without falling back on groupthink or getting our minds clouded by denial or despair. It is a dynamic path to walk, but I believe it is a duty we are called to undertake.

In my journeys with all of this, I bumped into a familiar scripture in Isaiah that re-centered me in my life mission and inspired me to write this post:

Therefore my people shall know what my name is AND what it means; therefore they shall know in that day that I am He who speaks: behold, I AM!
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good tidings, who publishes peace, who brings good tidings of good, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, Your God reigns!
Isa 52: 6,7 (amplified)

Publish peace.

God has declared a peace treaty without waiting for our rage against Him to subside. He seeks no recompense and He does not seek to oppress. He unilaterally declared peace to us (read Ephesians chapter 2) and we can truly be at peace with Him. The word ‘publish’ here struck me as a call to respond to the onslaught on negativity in the world, with an onslaught of hope and optimism possible because of God’s offer of peace.

Blog peace. Blog salvation.

If other bloggers happen to read this far into this post, and think about that in relation to what they write day in and day out, perhaps we could see a reversal take place in an increasingly polarized world. After all, do you not consider our role one of leadership? One cannot comment on the state of the world and seek a growing audience without the leadership responsibility that accompanites it.

Those of us who are spiritual cannot become enomored in the spin and despair of the world, but must find our calling in the opportunity to transcend it. This is true by definition. Spiritual people are recognizable as the hope bringers to the world. What we have to recognize is the greater story at work in our own lives and PUBLISH THAT in direct competition to what we are hearing. We have to be relevant, on topic, and reconciliatory.

Let me know what you think.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 1st, 2005 at 10:22 am and is filed under General info and Inspiration. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.