November 14, 2011
Veterans
All around town there were many Veterans’ celebrations to choose from
and this year I attended (Navy vet) the event at the local high school. I sat
next to a young woman who loved to talk about herself. She joined the Army, but
it wasn’t up her alley, so after serving two years she got a medical discharge.
She was married to a man in the Army, but that didn’t work out, so she divorced
him, came home and then married a civilian…more up her alley. She is expecting
her first child in March and excitedly laid claim to being the first local
pregnant mom to benefit from free Veteran’s medical clinic. I couldn’t help but
wonder about her need to be publically recognized as a Veteran and accept those
benefits, yet all the while having a distasteful attitude toward the military.
I think we see something similar in the church. Many people love laying claim
to being Christian, yet to hear them talk, much of the Christian life just
isn’t up their alley.
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Gail;
-----If you carefully looked at any of us in the context of everything around us calling for the contribution of our resources or time or for our sympathies, understanding, or forbearance or any combination of the multitudes of other aspects of godliness and goodness, I think your honest assessment would be that much of the Christian life isn’t up any of our allies. Our righteousness just doesn’t rise too high up the scale of real righteousness.
-----But we try because the Christian life has caught us by our desires. And still we flub up a lot. Most of the time though, when we do flub it, we try to fix or straighten up what we mussed. When we don’t or can’t, we at least try to correct our attitudes somewhat and hope to do better next time. And the only reason we have the energy for that is because we confess our errors and ask forgiveness of One whom we know will forgive us.
-----So the most of us laying claim to being Christian haven‘t ventured all the way down that alley. But the stark difference is, we don’t leave the alley. We abide in Christ and His help despite the good life’s sloppy fit on our frail frames while she sloughed the military life like a flaming robe. She not only laid claim to military benefits like we frail Christians claim God’s promises, but she abandoned the military alley unlike His children who might frolic just a little past its entrance, but will not leave it for anything.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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