August 29, 2013

"Ambassadors and Association" by Kevin Corr

So I’d have to say that I’m a pretty big fan of the Transformers movie series and have been ever since the first one came out; I’d probably even put it in on the top five of my all time favorite movies.  And you know what, though I wouldn’t put it in my top five, I’d have to say that I really enjoyed the second Transformers movie as well, which a lot of people might have to disagree with me on that.  I don’t think people would say that it’s terrible, but that it was definitely a disappointment compared to the first.  For me however, I thoroughly enjoyed it almost as much as the first movie and couldn’t wait for it to come out on DVD so I could watch it repeatedly, just as I did with the first movie.  Yet, when I finally got to watch it at home, I’m not even sure if I finished it- I didn’t remember it being that long!  I wanted to stop watching it after the battle when Optimus fights valiantly to protect Sam, but despite all his might he was unable to withstand Megatron’s sword to the back after all the gunshots and punches to the faces Optimus endured.  Everything after that scene: meh.  Despite all this, I still really like the movie.
            You see, when Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen came to theaters, I went to the midnight premiere, but I still saw it two hours later than I normally would have.  It came out the summer I graduated high school and for the first time in years, I got to return to Colorado where I grew up before moving to Georgia.  I got to see the movie with my best friend from my childhood (who was also excited to see it because he loved the first one) and he loved watching the sequel at the theater as well, even despite the fact that we had to watch the movie on a smaller screen because our other friend had ordered her ticket too late, so she couldn’t get into the theater whose screen was only a few feet smaller than IMAX.  We had a great time the entire night and loved the movie from beginning to end.
            I realize this is a bit of a lengthy introduction and is a random story from my life, but the reason why I loved Transformers 2 wasn’t because the story was so compelling (it wasn’t) or because I thought the twin robots were hilarious (though they were rather racist) or because it was full of Michael Bay explosions (that one’s actually true, but the size of the explosion doesn’t equate to the quality of the film).  I liked Transformers 2 because of the memory I have being back in Colorado, seeing it with my childhood best friend, and the fun I had that night.  I’ve maybe watched that movie only two or three times since I saw it in theaters, but I still really like the movie because of the good memory I associate with that film, not because of Michael Bay explosions.
            Now, to relate this to subject of being ambassadors of Christ, the fact is, anyone who is associated with the church, anyone who claims to speak the words of God, anyone who claims the Bible as truth, anyone who claims to be a Christian- well, they are an ambassador of Christ and as ambassador, they represent Christ, thereby reflecting him as well.  I’m not even referring to people of the present, but really the entire history of Christianity.  Unfortunately, I think the ambassadors of Christ have poorly reflected Christ throughout history by mistaking the will of God with their own, being an elitist and Pharisaical, or even just believing that they are a Christian when they have not truly been saved.  It is in my opinion that because of these mistakes from the past- and sadly the present as well- when people see the church, they have an association with it that tunes out the love of God, the fact that Christ died for them.
            Of course there are other reasons for why people are repelled away from the church, I simply point out this negative association people have because while there may be countless ambassadors of Christ, there are few who truly reflect Christ, while as the rest-- well, they’re just poor ambassadors. 

            So the church might have a few bad reviews right now and this is why I shared my story at the beginning. I still like Transformers 2, even though it was a pretty lousy movie, because of a positive association I hold with it.  As such, I write this to those who are discouraged by the negative view of the church given by those who are poor ambassadors of Christ, to encourage you that as you strive to bare the same title but with the intent of truly reflecting Christ, remember this:  “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.  For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing” (2 Cor. 2:14-15).  If you are shining your Light and are continuing to be Salty, you may be the fragrance associated with what they believe to have gone foul.  Remember this though: the aroma of a fragrance may linger and please those who are unfamiliar to its scent, but a person rarely chases after something based just upon their nose.  A scent may attract, but a vast amount of Salt will make a person thirsty.  My point is, continue to reflect Christ so that those who are perishing may associate him with God’s love and no longer with the people who don’t deserve it in the first place.

August 23, 2013

Glorification in Temptation by Kevin Corr

Personally, I’ve found that a common question among people of the church stems from the beginning of time: “Why would God have created the Tree of Knowledge in the garden of Eden in the first place? Wouldn’t Adam and Eve never have sinned if it was never there?”  I can understand why this question concerns people: if God gave us free will so we can choose to love him, could we not have chosen to love God even without that tree’s existence?  To be honest, I’m not sure that while God was creating the earth, God made that one particular tree with the intent that it would have the potential to be the downfall of mankind (though, being omniscient, I’m sure he knew anyways).  I doubt that that tree was any taller than the rest, or any greener, or it’s fruit any more tasty.  In fact, I believe that the Tree of Knowledge could have potentially been any other tree, but what gave it it’s title was just the fact that God commanded Adam and Eve to not eat from it.  As such, it wasn’t the fruit of the Tree that made Adam and Eve ashamed, but disobeying God’s command.  Like all of God’s command, they are of the utmost importance, but in this case, I would much rather have had Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command than God never declaring the Tree of Knowledge at all.
    Allow me to explain.  First off, obviously I do not condone the sin that Adam and Eve committed, but what I mean is that I’m glad God gave Adam and Eve the opportunity to sin rather than never giving them that opportunity at all.  Adam and Eve were tempted by Satan to sin and I think that just like with the Tree of Knowledge, temptation has an association as sin itself-- temptation equals sin, the Tree of Knowledge equals sin.  This is certainly not so however, temptation only leads to sin if you give in to it, but temptation is like a coin-- there’s another side to it.  When you resist temptation, when you resist the opportunity to sin, you are not merely avoiding sin, but you are glorifying God.  “Sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4), therefore the other side of the coin- resisting temptation- is living according to the law and commands of God; what could be more glorifying to God?  Looking on this side of temptation, such an opportunity could practically be welcomed so as to glorify God, rather than falling into sin.  Adam and Eve fell into the temptation of Satan to bring sin into the world, but Jesus resisted multiple temptations from Satan to never be bothered by him again and “angels came and were ministering to [Jesus]” (Matt. 4:11).  Analyzing the difference between the two scenarios, Adam and Eve only had each other, while Jesus had received the Holy Spirit by this point in his ministry.  While temptation may be scary because of the risks involved in falling into sin, with the Holy Spirit we can conquer temptation and Jesus was given even further support upon resisting temptation.  Though it may be difficult at first, the more we stand up against temptation, the easier and more opportunities we will have to glorify God.
    It may be crazy to think that there are opportunities to glorify God even when facing temptation, but this is where the question of the meaning of the Tree of Knowledge is answered.  Would Adam and Eve ever had sinned if there wasn’t a Tree in the first place?  Assuming that the Tree was the only means that Satan could tempt Adam and Eve, then I would have to say the answer to this question is no, the two of them probably wouldn’t have sinned.  But the other side to this is that they never would have had the opportunity to glorify God.  I’m not saying that if the Tree was never there that sin would’ve never entered the world (after all, Paul says in Romans 3 that man does not seek good so there may have been other opportunities for man to sin), but if this is true then there also would have never been an opportunity to glorify God.  Personally, though the risk was great, a world where we’re never given the opportunity to glorify God hardly seems like a world worth living in, even without sin.  I believe that God thought the same thing when he made the Tree and He may have been disappointed by the results, but He also knew the reward.  Since he gave us a second chance through His son, whenever we feel the sting of sin when falling to temptation, we have another opportunity to resist it and know the reward of doing so.