The Spero Project

I am not a good Twitter participant.  (tweeter?  twitterite?  twit? What do you call someone who uses twitter well?)  But, I do check it to see what's going on with people and organizations that I like and respect.  Today, I'm sure it's no surprise to you that every top trending topic was related to the Royal Wedding.  It turns out the world really cares about this stuff--dresses and decorations and what-not.  And all I can think about is the song I've been listening to non-stop for a month or so, "Christ is Risen."

I have no idea what copy-right issues I'm stepping on here, but I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that the four people who read this terribly sporadic blog (did I mention I don't do well at social media?) won't turn me in to the authorities when I write that the line in the song that just gets me is "Oh, Church, come stand in the light!  The Glory of God has defeated the night." 

It would be hard for me to make a case that weddings are bad.  Primarily because weddings aren't bad.  But, I do think that the world standing still and seemingly taking notice of the Royal Wedding and the Royal Wedding alone for the last few weeks highlights how much room the Church has to come alive, to trust Jesus that He is bringing light to dark places, and to tell the world about a God who is worthy of their worship. 

What if the Christians around the world said, 'Yes, I will celebrate things worth celebrating.  But, no, I will not use it as a way to distract myself from oppression, bondage, and tragedy."? What if we were known for being the crazy kids who COULD NOT stop caring about Syria, who believed the Glory of God would overcome THAT night, and did it with this joy and hope that just didn't make sense to people?  What if we were the people who had an all-out media frenzy, twitter extravaganza, party-in-the-streets celebration not only when a famous couple gets married, but also when one woman is freed from sexual slavery?  Or when one child is adopted into a loving family? 

I have lots of friends who don't know Jesus.  I love them and respect them and they teach me a lot every day.  Mostly, they've taught me that the Lord will likely not draw them to Himself using my stellar debating skills.  What they've noticed is pretty much that the many of us Christians don't take most of what the Bible says very seriously.  Even when they read the Bible, they are confused at the disconnect between it and people of faith that they see.  And it's not arrogant on their part.  They're not combative and looking for a way to disagree (I know some people are--just not my friends, I promise!).  They just genuinely don't know why they would take the God of the Bible seriously if those of us who 'believe' in it don't.

I'm kind of tired of emails that tell me how scared I should be of Muslims and how I should get busy having babies so I can make sure us Christians don't get populated over.  To be fair, that's partly because I'm terrified of children so one or two is about all the Good Lord has given me the mental capacity to manage.  But, mostly it's because I think it'd be cool if we just dug in and decided that the gift of grace that Jesus gives us is SO crazy that we will spend our lives RADICALLY following His words and caring for the people and things He cares about.  I have this idea that if we started doing that and teaching our already-born children how to do that, people around the world wouldn't just 'not be Muslim', but they'd be followers of Jesus.  I have no interest in talking you out of something for the sake of proving you're wrong.  But, I do believe Jesus has the Words of Life, that His resurrection changed everything.  And, mostly, I believe He is worthy to be worshiped. 

SO, I have decided that I will not scoff the Royal Wedding.  Those of you who know how not girly I am know that's impressive. (Don't get all lecture-y on me here.  I know marriage is spiritual business.  I just don't care a whole lot what color your boutineers are.)  But, I will choose to celebrate freely and fully the things that Jesus tells me to care about just as much.  I will pray and pray and pray that, starting with me and my family, that the American Church comes alive in such a way that freedom for captives is a reality, that those who don't know Jesus see His grip on us as we sacrificially follow Him, and that the Glory of God overcomes the night in Syria, in Burma, in Congo, and beyond.

And, I'll try to learn more about twitter.

*A friendly post by Kim Bandy who posted on a whim without proof-reading from trusted sources, so is well-aware that her grammar is wrong in 3/4 of the sentences written.  My apologies.