Author: Kevin Sherman

I sit down to write this blog, I just spent the past 20 minutes reading a back-and-forth debate over the kingdom of God and politics on Facebook. Who won the debate? Nobody. In fact, I can’t recall any of these discussions (for lack of a better word), no matter how eloquent, where one party suddenly said, “Wow, now I see where you’re coming from and you are right! I’ve completely changed my mind now! No, it’s usually the opposite – we just become more polarized and hardened in our position.

One particular trend I have noticed is what I call the “gotcha” culture. It’s where certain people feel the need to point out and publicize the errors (or perceived errors) of others. It’s like leaven in the bread of social media these days. Somebody’s secret sin gets exposed and we want to make sure the world knows about it. There are even certain news organizations that will throw a catchy headline out there, true or not, just to get your attention. “Shocking Secret Affair Exposed.”

I’ve fallen for it. You may have too. This is nothing new. It has been around since the early days of man. In the ninth chapter of Genesis there is the account of an incident involving Noah and his sons. After the waters form the great flood had receded, Noah settled down, became a farmer, and planted a vineyard. One day when he drank the wine, he became drunk and was laying naked in his tent. His youngest son, Ham, saw his father naked and told his brothers outside. His two brothers, Shem and Japheth, took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and went backward and covered their father’s nakedness. As they did, they looked away and did not see their father’s nakedness. It goes on to say that when Noah woke up and knew what his son had done, he pronounced a curse on Ham’s descendants.

So why was this such a big deal?

There was obviously something in Ham’s heart that wanted to expose his father and make him shameful in the eyes of his brothers. In doing so, he dishonored his father. Honor is a big deal to God.

Unfortunately, we live in a culture that puts a high premium on shame. Just stand in line at your local grocery store and look at the scandalous headlines on the gossip publications. It sells. Great delight is taken in somebody’s failure being exposed.

And of course, let’s not forget the woman caught in adultery who was brought to Jesus. We all know how that story ended.

Love covers.

One son wanted to expose his father, bringing shame upon him. The other two sons loved him enough to cover him.

My wife loves me and I love her. There are things we both know about each other that we could tell others, thus exposing one another and ultimately destroying each other with shame. We choose not to do that because we choose love instead. There are things I know about some of you. I could easily destroy your reputation.

Love protects.

Obviously, I don’t love you at the same level I do my wife, but what if we, who call ourselves brothers and sisters, loved enough to cover one another up?

Hatred stirs up strife,

But love covers all sins.

Proverbs 10:12

And above all things have fervent love for one another,

For love will cover a multitude of sins.

1 Peter 4:18

Here are three things I believe will help us to walk in love toward someone who has been exposed:

 

1. Pray for them. In secret!

 

2. Cover them. If they’ve been exposed and shamed, then you be the one to walk backward and cover them up.

 

3. Ask God if you’re the one who should restore them. There is a proper way to do this: Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness yourself before the day’s out. Galatians 6:1 MSG

Let’s create a culture of love.

Love,

Kevin

 

 

 

 

 

In my church, we have recently been practicing the sacrament of communion much more frequently. I like that. I think Jesus likes that. After all, he did say, “as often as you do this, do it in remembrance of me.” It sounds to me like he would prefer that we do it often as opposed to seldom.

I remember as a child, sitting in the church pew watching my mother and other church members eating the little cracker and drinking the grape juice, wishing I could join in too, but I couldn’t. I wasn’t allowed to because I had not yet made a “profession of faith.” That happened when you walked down the church aisle, shook the preacher’s hand, and repeated the “sinner’s prayer”, and instantly became a member of the church.

As I reflect back on that time, I think my wishing I could partake was actually Jesus beckoning me to join him in this meal and to partake of him. Of course, that does sound like something he would do. After all, he is known for his willingness to sit down to a meal with all kinds of people.

As I told you a couple of blogs ago, I recently been experiencing a renewed and rejuvenated prayer life. In my morning prayer, there is a point somewhere in the middle of it when I become quiet for a little while and wait for him to speak, show me something, or maybe just to feel his love wrap around me. Some call it contemplative prayer. Brian Zahnd calls it “sitting with Jesus.” That’s what I’m calling it too. It has become my favorite part of morning prayer.

On Christmas morning, while sitting with Jesus, no sooner had I closed my eyes when I saw Jesus seated at the table with his disciples. He looked at me and held out the bread and wine. I heard him say, “this coming year, you will truly begin to understand what it means to eat my flesh and drink my blood.” That may sound rather morbid to you if you’re not familiar with the scripture in John 6 where Jesus actually talks about eating his flesh and drinking his blood.

Of course, we know it’s all really just symbolism, right? Or, is it? Well, apparently those who heard him say it at the time knew it was more than just symbolism –

 

From that time many of his disciples went back and walked with him no more.

(John 6:66)

 

I have already experienced the presence of God in a more powerful way each time I have received communion this new year. There is something very real taking place.

Most of my life, I’ve heard it said that the bread and wine are merely symbols of the body and blood of our Lord. Then, of course, there were the words inscribed on the table in front of most traditional pulpits – This Do In Remembrance of Me.

Over 2000 years ago, the disciples sat with Jesus in the upper room and shared in that meal. For Christians, the disciples who sat in the upper room with Jesus and shared in that meal are us.

When we partake of the Lord’s Supper, we are doing it in remembrance.

 

“That doesn’t mean just ‘remembering’ Jesus and his death. We do not simply recall the events of Calvary with our minds and hearts in faith and love and awe—though we should certainly do that every time we come to Jesus’ table. It means that somehow Jesus is present; that his one-off death is made contemporary with us. The unique past event rushes forward to accompany us on our journey.”

N.T. Wright, The Meal Jesus Gave Us: Understanding Holy Communion

 

There is so much more that can be said about this topic and surely so much more for me to learn. I have a sneaking suspicion I’ll be learning a good portion of it as I experience it. He invites you and me to the table where he is present. This is one of those places where heaven meets earth, where his will is done on earth as it is in heaven.

He has invited me to the table. I look forward to our next meal together.

This is dining at it’s finest!

 

Enjoying his table,

Kevin

I’ve never been too keen on New Year’s resolutions. After all, why should I need a calendar date to make any change in my habits or lifestyle? I can change something just as well on December 28^th as I can on January 1^st, but the fact is we mark New Year’s day as a new beginning and a place to start over. With that in mind, I’ve made a list of 3 things I want to do better in 2017.

 

1. Love my neighbor better.

Of course this begs the question, “Who is my neighbor?” My neighbor is anyone I encounter. It’s the single mom with her two kids in front of me in the check-out line at the grocery store who comes up a few dollars short to pay for her items and I happen to have a $20 bill in my wallet. It’s the guy on the freeway who carelessly whips in front of me to cut me off (I need a lot of grace on this one!). It’s the homeless man. It’s the guy who has the complete opposite political views than me. In a nutshell, I want to be less focused on myself and more aware that there are those around me every day who need love.

 

2. Be a better listener. (when my wife reads this, she’ll respond with an Amen!)

I want to be a better listener to other people. Instead of hearing a couple of words and immediately making a pre-judgment (prejudice), I could actually listen to them with an open mind and try to understand where they’re coming from. Sometimes we can be so anxious to let our point of view be known, that we fail to really hear the other person.

 

“Whoever answers before listening is both foolish and shameful.”

Proverbs 18:13

 

3. Pray better.

Not more, just better. When Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, he said –

 

“In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven…”     

 

Jesus didn’t just give them a suggestion, he gave them an actual prayer to pray. When I pray in this way, it aligns my life with heaven. This is not about praying eloquent prayers, it is about me aligning myself with heaven’s intentions. There is something powerful that takes place when we make time to pray.

I’m not talking about praying over your meal. This is about spending time, one-on-one, with Jesus. And in that time, not only talking to God, but listening to him as well.

This blog has been short and to the point this week. I could probably come up with many more, but these are the three “biggies” right now.

 

What do you want to do better in 2017? I would love to hear your thoughts.

 

See you next year,

 

Kevin                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

A couple of years ago I purchased a song on iTunes. There’s nothing unusual about that, except this particular song seemed so descriptive of where I felt like I was at this juncture of my life. The song was “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”, by U2:

 

I have climbed the highest mountains

I have run through the fields

Only to be with you

Only to be with you

 

I have run, I have crawled

I have scaled these city walls

These city walls

Only to be with you

 

But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for

But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for

 

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a seeker. For as long as I can remember, there has been a cry from my innermost being that says, “there must be more!”

It’s a search for something real. Something authentic. Something genuine.

 

I liken it to pecan brittle. Yes, pecan brittle. I remember eating peanut brittle as a child and being somewhat unimpressed by it. I’ve seen peanut, pecan, and even cashew brittle fancy in packages in stores and have tried some of it. But then there’s Becky’s Famous Pecan Brittle. It’s authentic, it’s real, it’s original, and it’s like nothing you’ve ever tasted. No fancy packaging, just a little brown paper bag with a red ribbon around it, with a little tag on it. But inside is something delightful and delicious.

 

I, like so many others these days, have grown tired of the plastic, glossed over, loud and flashy, what-can-we-grab-their-attention-with-this-week church scene. Where is the authentic?

 

As this year comes to an end, I will have read 12 books, all of them good, but the last one could be considered the icing on the cake (or maybe the cake itself). The Book is “Water to Wine” by Brian Zahnd. Ironically, in the first chapter he quotes the first verse of the song I spoke of in the beginning.

 

I’ve read a lot of books in my life, but I don’t know that I’ve read one that so resonated with where I am in my search. Here’s what he says about the book on the back cover:

 

“I was halfway to ninety—midway through life—and I had reached a mid-life crisis. Call it a garden-variety mid-life crisis if you want, but it was something more. You might say it was a theological crisis, though it makes it sound too cerebral. The unease I felt came from a deeper place than a mental file labeled ‘theology.’ I was wrestling with the uneasy feeling that the faith I had built my life around was somehow deficient. Not wrong, but lacking. It seemed watery, weak. In my most honest moments I couldn’t help but notice that the faith I knew seemed to lack the kind of robust authenticity that made Jesus so fascinating. And I had always been utterly fascinated by Jesus. What I knew was that the Jesus I believed in warranted a better Christianity than I was familiar with. I was in Cana and the wine had run out. I needed Jesus to perform a miracle.”

 

Brian Zahnd, Water to Wine

 

The greatest impact this book has had on me has been my prayer life. I would be more honest and truthful to say my lack of a prayer life.

 

I have now begun using a liturgy of prayer outlined in this book that has not only changed my prayer life, but is changing me!

 

I’ll leave you with another quote from Water to Wine –

 

“The primary purpose of prayer is not to get God to do what we think God ought to do, but to be properly formed. Prayer is not about advising or managing God; prayer is about us being properly formed.”

 

To be continued…

 

Merry Christmas to all,

 

Kevin

As most of you who read my blog know, I talk a lot about changing the way you think. In one of my earlier blogs I wrote about a 21-day brain detox that I do on a continual basis. I recently decided to begin a series of detoxes based on the Sermon On the Mount found in Matthew’s gospel.

I have probably read these three chapters more than any others in the New Testament the past few years, yet I sense that there’s still something deeper that I need to see, understand, and experience. The Apostle Paul said it so well –

 

“…that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened…”

 

This, and the passage in its entirety in Ephesians, explains why I need to pick a portion of the Bible that I’m already so familiar with and let it transform me so completely that when I come out the other side, I look, sound, smell, taste, and act like Jesus. I won’t be allowed to turn back to that way of thinking that says, “Oh I know Jesus said that, but c’mon, we live in the real world.”

 

I have decided to follow Jesus.

 

Oh, the many times I sang that song growing up in an evangelical church and thinking it meant, “I have decided to punch my ticket to heaven.” If that is all it means, then it would have been better to have drowned me in the baptismal tank!

I am forty-seven days into this massive detox and I’m on Matthew 5:5 –

 

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

 

What is meekness?

The late Warren Piersol gave the best explanation of meekness I’ve ever heard. He gave the example of a horse, which as we know is one of the strongest and most powerful animals on earth. The horse is also one of the most useful animals known to man. But he is only useful if he has been broken and tamed.

Once broken and tamed, he becomes gentle and cooperative. But he still has the power and strength to kill you. Powerful, yet gentle. Gentle, yet powerful.

So it is with a man who is meek. No better example of this than Jesus.

He was God. He had the full disposal of God’s power at His fingertips. He had the power to do great harm to His enemies, even kill them. When the band of Roman soldiers, led by Judas, came to arrest Him in the garden of Gethsemane, Peter drew his sword and cut off an ear of one of them. Jesus, who could have slain them all with one command, healed the soldier’s ear instead. That is meekness.

I’m not sure at this moment that I would be able to respond like Jesus did, but I want to. I want to be like that.

I believe this world could use some meekness right now. A lot of meekness. Meekness is not weakness. In fact, it is the opposite. You and I have the power to kill our enemies. Not only physically, but with our words. I have that power. You have that power. But there is a power that waits to be unleashed on the world that can only be unleashed through meekness. It is the power of love. The power that comes only from the One who is love – Jesus. It is unleashed when we let Him put the bit in our mouth and let Him gently guide us with His reins.

 

In the kingdoms of this world, the powerful rule.

 

In His kingdom, the meek inherit the earth.

 

Learning meekness,

 

Kevin

Have you ever secretly wished for a power outage that would last for days, maybe even weeks? I have. I know what you’re probably thinking, “Kevin, have you lost your mind? Don’t you remember the last major power outage we had in September of 2008 when Hurricane Ike came through and knocked our electricity out for 6 days? Yes, I do. In fact, some folks were without power for weeks. Was it an inconvenience? Yes. Were there benefits? Yes, from my perspective.

One of the benefits that stood out to me the most was the sense of community that came to the forefront. I met neighbors that I had not known up to that point. Family members came together and we actually conversed with one another instead of getting lost in our computers and cell phones.

Why does it seem like we can only have true community when our modern conveniences are temporarily shut down?

Webster’s Dictionary defines community as a group of people with a common characteristic or interest. We are all part of some community in one form or another. However, I want us to think about the root word of community: commune. No, I’m not talking about the noun form, which is a group of people living together and sharing possessions and responsibilities. I’m talking about the verb: to communicate with someone or something in a very personal or spiritual way.

Ah, but never fear, we have Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram now, don’t we? I love social media. It’s a great tool for communicating thoughts and ideas, not to mention those cute pictures of puppies, kittens, and grandchildren of course! We can learn a lot about each other from social media, but how can I really know the real you? It can only come from time spent together. In person. I write a weekly blog and publish it on Facebook. I share bits and pieces of my life and some of my beliefs, but there are some things about me you’ll never know unless you spend actual time with me, and vice versa. It’s easy to sit behind a computer or cell phone and go on a rant about politics or the guy who cut me off on the freeway.

There’s something about being able to look you in the eye, to hear voice inflection, to see body language. We can’t get that through any other means than personal time together.

Time together. That’s what I love the most about holidays (and eating good food!). It’s the time spent around the table eating, laughing, sharing stories, sharing ourselves.

I can’t imagine what it is like to be without family to spend holidays with. We have what I call “the open family concept” in the Sherman household. More holidays than not, we have had guests in our home who were not blood relatives or in-laws, but if you eat at my table you’re considered family. I feel pretty good about that. I believe that’s the heart of our Father God.

 

“God sets the solitary in families…” (Psalm 68:6)

 

Becky and I have jokingly talked about putting a basket by the front door at our next family gathering. Upon entering the house, everybody would put their cell phones in it, to be left there until time to leave (except for taking pictures of course, which we will then immediately post to social media, lol!) We might actually set that basket out this time.

I’m going to make a challenge: Put a basket by the door. I you can’t do that, at least try to put your phone down long enough to have an actual conversation. Who knows? You might actually get to know somebody.

 

Let us commune.

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Kevin

 

It’s Tuesday November 8^th, 2016. Election night in America. By the time you read this blog, it will be Thursday and we will have elected a new president and other leaders in our government. Watching the election returns on TV, I’ve found myself far less anxious this time than in past elections. That sounds strange, given that this has been the wildest, most bizarre and divisive election I can remember. There were past presidential elections where I was so angry at the results that I wanted to throw objects at the television set after I had called half the population of my country ignorant idiots for not voting the way I did. After all, it would be the end of the world as we know it because my guy wasn’t elected.

The purpose of this blog piece is not to minimize the importance of this election. Were it not important, I wouldn’t have bothered to vote.

However, I have come to understand that there is Someone who transcends all kings and rulers and He has a kingdom that supersedes all earthly governments. I have seen social media posts during this election cycle by some of my fellow followers of Christ that made me wonder if they understand who our King is. Statements like “If Hillary gets elected, it’s all over! She’s going to destroy this country!” “God is going to remove His hand from this nation if we don’t elect the right person!”

If anything changes after this election, I hope it’s this – That we, the people of God would stop looking to politicians to be agents of change and realize that WE are the change.

 

What if we are the awakening we’ve been waiting for?

What if revival’s laid at our front door?

(From the song “Carrier” by Nathan Isaacs)

 

The prophet Isaiah foretold of the coming Messiah with these words:

 

Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end.

Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,

To order it and establish it with judgment and justice

From that time forward, even forever.

The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this.

(Isaiah 9:7)

 

I am under a government that was not elected by men, but appointed by Almighty God. That government was embodied in Jesus Christ and through His death and resurrection it is now embodied in us, the Body of Christ. How many presidents, governors, mayors, senators, etc. must fail before we realize that the only government that carries any weight in heaven is His government? That government legislates through us.

When this election is over and we have a new president, whether it’s your guy or gal, or my guy, Jesus will still be king. The sun will come up the next day and His mercies will still be new, just like they are every morning. God will still be in charge of His universe and nobody will have replaced Him!

 

One more thing. Can we learn how to love one another? After all, Jesus did say this –

 

“By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you are Republicans have love for one another.”

 

That’s what His government looks like.

 

Love,

 

Kevin

When does a life begin? This question has been debated over and over for decades by religious leaders, media pundits, and politicians. For we who consider ourselves pro-life, the obvious answer to that question has been at conception.

I would like to suggest that even that answer comes up short.

Before you or I were conceived in our mother’s womb when the sperm met the egg, we were conceived in the Father’s heart. Before we existed in this world, we existed in His world – heaven.

Mankind was not simply an afterthought in God’s mind after He created the heavens and the earth.

 

“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you;

Before you were born I sanctified you;

I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

(Jeremiah 1:5)

 

Stop and think about that for a moment (or a lifetime!). Before we were the tiniest of cells, He already knew us.

Life is sacred. It should come as no surprise that the issue of abortion has come up so little in this presidential election. I guess that shouldn’t shock us considering this culture of ours where death seems to be celebrated, especially in arts and entertainment. And I am not one who believes legislation will cure this culture of death.

Not only is life in the womb sacred, but all human life is sacred, in and out of the womb. It hurts my heart to hear of an unborn child being ripped apart in the womb. My heart should be equally hurt when innocent children are ripped apart in the bombing of a village in the Middle East. When I see every human being as someone created in the image of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, my whole perspective on death changes. Perhaps that is why the bible calls death an enemy.

The very breath God breathed into the nostrils of Adam is still given to us today, and if that is so, then what a joy it is to breathe it back to Him. God literally taught us how to breathe (Gen.2:7) by sharing His breath with us. Wow!

 

“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.”

(Psalm 150:6)

 

The word “breath” here (neshamah) is the same word used in Gen. 2:7 when God breathed into the man’s nostrils the breath of life. He desires nothing less than our every breath. It originated in Him, I give it back to Him. When I meditate on this truth, it causes my thinking to shift to eternity. When I say eternity, I’m not talking about going to heaven someday. Heaven is a present reality because the One who fills heaven lives in me and I in Him. In fact, I’ve always been in Him, because I was in His mind before creation. Is your head spinning yet? Mine is and has been ever since I came upon this truth! I’ve always been in Christ, but didn’t realize it until His spirit came alive in me and I was born again.

May you never wonder again if He cares about you or if you even matter.

Before you were physical matter, you mattered to Him.

 

You still do.

 

We still do.

 

Just breathe.

 

Kevin

 

It was a typically cool, comfortable Fall Friday evening in East Texas. My son Brian and I threw our overnight bags and bedding into the jeep and took off to meet a friend (about Brian’s age) who was catching a ride with us to a church men’s retreat. It was to be the first one our church had done in quite a few years. I was looking forward to getting away for a couple of days with some other men and do manly things like sitting around a fire telling stories and fishing.

We picked up our buddy and headed east to the camp which was about an hour and a half away. We began to talk about what anticipated the weekend being like, which was of course fishing, sitting around the fire, or just relaxing and doing whatever the heck we wanted to do. We wanted very little structure and no “agenda.” Having been to quite a few of these type events in my life, I knew better than to expect that.

We had whipped ourselves into a frenzy of excitement with visions in our minds of driving into the camp to find a fire already going and join right in. We were running late due to waiting on our friend who had just gotten off work. I decided to give my friend John a call. John was the one in charge of the retreat and he and most of the guys were already there. As soon as he answered, I asked, “There IS going to be a fire, right?” “Uh, no, we hadn’t really planned on it,” he said. “What? No fire? You can’t have a men’s retreat without a fire!” I could tell he was taken back by my response. Then he proceeded to tell me that they were going to have a session of praise and worship and then a little teaching.  I’m usually content to join right in and go with the flow, and some of the most powerful and deep workings of the Holy Spirit had happened to me at men’s gatherings, but this night I had succumbed to murmuring and complaining. What was worse, these two young men who looked to me as an example were brought into it with me. The remainder of the trip was nothing but a big gripe session.

We finally arrived at the camp, parked, and walked inside the room where the meeting had already begun. There were some guys with guitars and some percussion leading worship. And there we stood in the back with our hands in our pockets. This wasn’t the kind of retreat I had in mind and I wasn’t going to enter in. Or was I?

After standing there a couple of minutes, I felt the urge to go lay down on the floor behind some chairs. This is not anything out of the ordinary for me, but this time was different. This time I didn’t really want to, but seemed to be compelled by a force greater than me or my rotten attitude.

I walked over to the back of the room and laid face down on the floor. I felt nothing, but somehow knew that was where I needed to be. After a few minutes, I felt as if I was the only one in the room. Then suddenly I felt what seemed like an electrical current go through me in wave after wave. My entire body was shaking. I don’t know if anyone else saw me, and didn’t really care. It felt like warm liquid waves of love going through me. This went on for at least half an hour.

God spoke some things to me that night, but I won’t share them right now.

What I learned more than anything that night was this – Jesus wants an encounter with me more than I ever could.

That night made no sense to me at all. How could someone who had spent the entire trip to the camp complaining, whining, and acting like anything but a man of God, walk in with a scowl on his face and then have such a powerful encounter with the love of God?

 

I don’t know.

 

But I do know this – He loves me because He is Love. He wants me more than I could ever want Him.

 

He wants you.

He doesn’t love you because of anything other than He loves you because He loves you because He loves you because He loves you!

 

This kind of love is beyond my understanding.

 

Oh, by the way, we built a fire later that night and went fishing the next day.

 

Letting Him love me,

 

Kevin

One of the things I love about writing this blog is the ability to pick you up, so to speak, and take you for a little ride on this journey I’m on of changing the way I think. Hopefully, as you come along with me, you’ll choose to venture out into this new territory and recognize areas of your own thinking that must change.

God has a variety of means He uses to speak to people. With me, I see pictures and images most of the time. Sometimes it’s like a video playing in my mind. These seem unusual to me when I consider the fact that I love being a wordsmith. Nevertheless, this is the way it happens with me most of the time.

This past Sunday morning was no exception for me as we were engaged in an intimate time of worship. As I stood there I saw a movie playing in my mind of an atomic bomb exploding over a city, obliterating everything and everybody for miles. Mothers, fathers, children of all ages, people going about their day, gone in an instant and yet others dying a slow, agonizing death. Then I saw the name “Hiroshima” written across the top of the picture. I saw another movie again of an atomic bomb exploding over a city, this time the name “Nagasaki” was written across the top. Over 220,000 died in those two cities. It moved me to tears. As the tears flowed, I heard Jesus say “That’s how I feel about it.” Then it occurred to me that I had never really considered how Jesus might have felt or thought about those horrible events. I know how I felt about it most of my life. Thoughts like this:

 

Those Japs deserved it.

 

They started the war, we needed to finish it.

 

Sometimes innocent people die. That’s just the way it is.

 

Ask any Christian you meet and he or she can recite The Lord’s Prayer or at least most of it. It is one of the most quoted and recited passages in the entire bible. I’ve known it for most of my life, yet until recent years, I had never looked intently into what is being said. Especially those words, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  

At this point, you’re probably asking, “What do atomic bombs have to do with The Lord’s Prayer?” Nothing. Absolutely nothing. That is my point. In heaven there are no atomic bombs. In fact, there are no weapons at all. Only love. Only peace. Only Jesus and His ways. When we say those words, “on earth as it is in heaven,” we are saying this: The way it is in heaven should be the way it is on earth. We Christians can be very good at compartmentalizing our theology. For example, if you asked any Christian if God condones the killing of innocent people, the answer would be “no, of course not”, and yet violence seems to be our default response to violence most of the time.

What if our default response would instead be to ask, “Father, how is heaven responding to this attack?” Or is it easier to just resort to violence? The “what if” questions always come when advocating for non-violent response, like “What if someone attacked you or your family?”, or “How else were we to end that war?” I wonder if Jesus thought about that before He said all that “love your enemies” and “turn the other cheek” stuff?

I’m pretty sure He did. He is God, you know.

What if there was a government that operated from a heavenly perspective and when faced with a violent attack, instead of responding violently, asked for God’s intervention in the matter? There is one. It’s called the kingdom of God. Her King is the Prince of Peace. I wonder how He got that name?

 

How different would our world look if we who believe in the Prince of Peace also believed that He is the better way?

 

Peace,

 

Kevin