Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Seeking The Righteousness of His Kingdom

Seeking God….To Rise Up Against Spiritual Enemies

Today's reading concerns those gripped by Satan's power.  I'm struck by the phrase, "Many righteous people have retreated from these settings."  How true.  As followers of Christ, we often try to remove ourselves from places of darkness and evil.  We do all we can to surround ourselves with good Christian friends, read Christian books, listen to Christians music, watch positive shows on TV, and generally  surround ourselves with a "Christian bubble."  Surveys have shown that the longer a person is a Christian, the fewer and fewer non-Christians friends he or she has.  But the result of all this is that too often we cannot have much of an impact on the world around us. 

In contrast, I'm struck by Jesus, who seemed to spend much of his time with the needy, the hurting, the partiers, and the sinners--those caught in Satan's grip.  Jesus knew that these people were not the enemies--they were the hostages of Satan, and needed to be set free.  What if Christians today were to quit worrying so much about our own safety and security, and started spending more time thinking about the needs of others? 

It was C.T. Studd, the famous missionary to China, India, and Africa who wrote:
 

"Some want to live within the sound
of church or chapel bell;
I want to run a rescue shop
within a yard of hell." 

As we draw close to Easter, may God give us all the strength and passion to go be a light in dark places.

Terry Seufferlein
Central Church of Christ