Friday, August 17, 2007

Look and live

Oh, what a rat-race we live. Ever flitting here and there and everywhere and hardly ever taking time to raise our gaze upon the one who stooped down to take pity on us miserable sinners.

Are any of you bitten by the viper of sin?
Look to the cross and live!

Are any of you gasping for air about to drown in your own despair?
Look to the cross and live!

Are any of you at the end of yourself?
Look to the cross and live!

As William Ogden once wrote in a forgotten hymn,

“Look and live,” my brother, live,
Look to Jesus now, and live;
’Tis recorded in His word, hallelujah!
It is only that you “look and live.”

Thursday, August 02, 2007

"Unless you repent..."

This morning as I learned about the terrible bridge collapse in Minnesota I was struck by how quickly calamity can intersect with the seemingly calm world of iPods, celebrity madness, sporting events, and the general living of life. Is it possible that from time to time God wants to get our attention to remind us of the ultimate futility of our technological progress and our endless comings and goings? I want to be careful that I do not ascribe the working of evil to our God, but I do know that God is sovereign and not one bridge can collapse without His being well aware of the exact bolt that failed.

Will we see the bigger picture? Will we run to God? Or will we simply utter more humanistic platitudes about how well we can come together in the face of tragedy or about the triumph of the human spirit? Let's face the questions and let these kinds of tragic events work in us to change our perspective and our priorities.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of the Twin Cities.