Josh Garrels - Zion & Babylon

....and dear black friday -take that- jesus is bigger than all our greed.

dear black friday

Dear black friday,

I wish I could point the finger at you and say with a clean conscience that I have no part in you. I don't shop on you, I don't take advantage of all the sparkly things you offer.... But the truth is, you reflect our hearts. Mine not withstanding. As a human race we are greedy, selfish hoarders who look after our own good before others, and it just manages to manifest itself in a lot of different ways. We don't always give all our allegiance to this demon - but none of us has been entirely free of it for our whole life. And none of us is innocent. Black friday, I want to play a song for you. maybe we'll look back at Jesus and remember that there's something a lot more important than "getting our own"- in whatever manner we do that.

Why am I awake at 12:14 am writing a blog after a long day/late night of work?.....

I like sleep. In fact, I like it when it happens around 10:30pm. But I've blazed through the day so quickly that I've hardly given anything a thought. Maybe it makes more sense to say I haven't really paused. I guess I'm pressing the pause button now.

Be still. Be thankful. Acknowledge the one who got me through the day, who upholds me with his love.

I think I'm just going to sit in the quiet for a little while, and ponder the largeness of that thought. Of what it really means to be grateful. Of what it really means to acknowledge the grace of God. Of who Jesus is, and what it means to know him. Of the good news that is good.

After all the busy-ness, all the noise, at the end of the day when I've made it through another...

I just need to stop in the stillness and remember.

He really is amazing.

"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth"

Revolution

Everyone is groaning and aching for a new world, a right world. Revolution after revolution. The world is in an upheaval from it all. And everyone dreams of a someday right world when there is no more suffering, pain, hurt, death. Except it’s just like when Jesus came the first time- all were looking expectantly for a messiah, but they wanted him to overthrow the system their way. Instead, he came as a humble leader who served everyone, and gave up his life for our sins. Not exactly what the Jews wanted or were expecting. And this time? This utopia everyone is so fond of seeking? ….It still isn’t Jesus.

We want our own. We are upset and angry because we aren’t the one percent (even though we are the 20% - oh the irony. I know I'm generalizing and that not everyone is in it for that, but the majority of words I've heard and signs I've seen...)…. And we somehow deserve our own. I have a feeling that Jesus might flip the whole scenario on it’s head and tell us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us, to take no part in injustice, but also to trust to his ultimate justice. He might just tell us to forget about our predicaments for a moment and take consideration of others’ predicaments. He might tell us to receive grace and to give it abundantly.

He might even tell us to be thankful.

He might tell us to topple the system by putting the greedy, and the rich who are hoarding to shame by our abundant giving, and by our humility- not by our demands for more.

p.s. occupy wall street, greed has nothing to do with the amount of money you have. It is a condition of the heart and applies to more than just money or material wealth. You can just as easily be greedy and poor as you can be greedy and rich.

You want to ‘occupy wall street’? You want revolution?

Lay down your own will and your own life and follow Jesus and his way. Love your neighbors. Love your enemies. Lay down your so-called rights for other’s rights. Glorify him, not yourself. Be thankful. Always. Mourn with those who mourn. Rejoice in the redemption that you’ve been given that can’t be taken away by any of this stuff. Take Joy in who Jesus is and his love and grace toward us. Seek his face. Be free to trust in him, not yourself, not humanity.

America, I don’t know if you’re ready for real revolution. It might be hard. (It might also be really good) It might not be what you want after all……