Darija was my student for one day. I saw her again last night at the church service here at the Synagog where I was preaching last night. She was my student only one day, because she can’t sleep, literally. She averages 2-3 hours per night . . . for the last seven years. But she did her assignment for the one day she was in class and she remarked that most of us have a coca-cola god. Or more accurately we treat God as a coca-cola machine.
“We put in our coin, get our preferred drink and go our merry ways. That is very easy to do. And because God is merciful and doesn’t punish us immediately, we just go ahead and repeat the process. Until one fine day, when we realize that we didn’t actually betray God, or damage Him, we damage ourselves. Although nobody was forcing us, we deprive ourselves of peace, joy and His presence.”
I admit that Darija got alot closer to the truth of the matter than I like to admit. But Darija mentions only the side of Christianity that is about what I receive. This week in class we are going way beyond that . . . into the enemies camp. Either we follow Christ or we are not Christian at all. And He is calling us to: “Love your enemies”, “Bless them that persecute you.”, Do good to them that hate you.“, ”Pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you.“ Is there a single one among us who does this? Here in Croatia where war raged not long ago . . . where land mines are still around in abundance, these are not meaningless words on paper . . . these are fighting words.
Me? I haven’t experienced war and I have no enemies I think. So what does this mean for me? It seems that God is calling us to something so radical, that putting a coin in and selecting our favorite beverage is way too tame and lame. Do we even know what faith and trust in God that enables us to love our enemies looks like? Bonhoeffer did . . . they hung him. Me? I like the coca-cola version of God. Let’s face it, I am a soft Westerner who has never gone without, ever, of anything. Can I possibly be farther from the Christ of the cross?
“We put in our coin, get our preferred drink and go our merry ways. That is very easy to do. And because God is merciful and doesn’t punish us immediately, we just go ahead and repeat the process. Until one fine day, when we realize that we didn’t actually betray God, or damage Him, we damage ourselves. Although nobody was forcing us, we deprive ourselves of peace, joy and His presence.”
I admit that Darija got alot closer to the truth of the matter than I like to admit. But Darija mentions only the side of Christianity that is about what I receive. This week in class we are going way beyond that . . . into the enemies camp. Either we follow Christ or we are not Christian at all. And He is calling us to: “Love your enemies”, “Bless them that persecute you.”, Do good to them that hate you.“, ”Pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you.“ Is there a single one among us who does this? Here in Croatia where war raged not long ago . . . where land mines are still around in abundance, these are not meaningless words on paper . . . these are fighting words.
Me? I haven’t experienced war and I have no enemies I think. So what does this mean for me? It seems that God is calling us to something so radical, that putting a coin in and selecting our favorite beverage is way too tame and lame. Do we even know what faith and trust in God that enables us to love our enemies looks like? Bonhoeffer did . . . they hung him. Me? I like the coca-cola version of God. Let’s face it, I am a soft Westerner who has never gone without, ever, of anything. Can I possibly be farther from the Christ of the cross?
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