We run our website the way we wished the whole internet worked: we provide high quality original content with no ads. We are funded solely by your direct support. Please consider supporting this project.
On Hacking Off Our Own Limbs
Nadia Bolz Weber posted this weekend on The Sarcastic Lutheran, and we thought you’d enjoy her thoughts on hacking off our own limbs for Jesus. Don’t worry, you won’t have the urge to find an axe after you read this. Or at least not a real axe.
From the post:
And here’s the thing…that story? The story of God’s redeeming work for all of creation that happens in the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that we tell every single week …that story? It’s an axe. And the Eucharist is an axe. And to be sure, the confession and absolution is an axe. And any thing that you would put in the center, job, relationship, money, status, pride, accomplishments, politics, security…. these things that seem to lure you with promises that can really only be given by God…these things that lie to you and cause you to stumble…well the promise of this text is that all that would stand in the place of God and all that would keep you from God will be burned away.
Image by viZZZual.com. Sourced via Flickr.
Category: General
Tags: Kingdom Living
Related Reading
Smack Talk on the Idolatry of the Family
Ben Ponder doesn’t pull any punches in his article Idolatry of the Family. He argues that, contrary to some evangelical claims, “Jesus didn’t die on a God-forsaken cross to preserve your horn-rimmed vision of 1950s Americana.” Can a marriage or a family become an idol? Ben thinks so. What do you think? From the article:…
A Brief Theology of Faith
It is often argued that Hebrews 11:1 provides us with a clear definition of faith. The NIV translates it as, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Most of the times when we use different translations of the Bible, the differences between them are about…
Q&A: Already-Not-Yet
Question: My question is regarding our “entanglement” with Christ that you spoke about a few weeks ago. In the sermon you noted how we are joined with Christ like those two particles that can be separated by light years of distance and yet both will react equally to a force acting on the other one. So here is my question: If…
Christian Utopia
Fergal of Claddagh, OP via Compfight A little meditation on Christian Utopia and the Body Politic as we stand poised on the eve of the election in America. We affirm that Jesus will indeed “establish His kingdom on earth” but it won’t come through the exercise of power. Rather, God’s kingdom will come as his…
The Right to Remain Silent
A reader (Thanks Adam) sent us this reflection written by Jason Hess on how we as Christians sometimes use the freedom of speech in ways that are in opposition with our call to love. How we live is infinitely more important than what we say, and sometimes our free speech is a detriment to bringing…
What’s Wrong With The World?
Hartwig HKD via Compfight The reports coming out of Fort Hood this morning once again highlight that our world is messed up. And it often feels like we are rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic as we try to find answers to address the problems we face. Here are some reflections by Greg on…