Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Adventures in the Morning Sun

[Note: This blog was originally published on my other site http://www.sydthesloth.blogspot.com on August 13th, 2007, however it seemed appropriate now too.]

The sunlight flickers through the trees like an old 16mm projector showing a film of the sky. As we drive by at 100km an hour, the world is a blur and the only thing constant is the morning Sun. The soft blue of the sky is politely interrupted by wispy clouds just above the treetops. The clouds themselves seem drowsy. Maybe they were up late chasing stars. By noon they’ll be all over the sky.

As we drive I think about people. We are on our way to church. Perhaps I should be thinking about God on my way to church but right now I’m thinking about people.

It’s interesting that all people are inherently flawed right from birth. I say it’s interesting not because it’s anything new, but because sometimes I feel lots of people aren’t flawed at all and I am. It’s weird to think about the faces at church, you know, the people who are always so nice and friendly even when you know they had a bad week. The people who offer to drive you home in a blizzard. They don’t seem as flawed as I am inside.

Recently I’ve been thinking about sin. About whether or not some sins are worse than others. If sin is essentially not relying on God for things, then the opposite of sin must be trust.

When I think about things like murders, suicide, wars, racism, I can’t help but wonder what I’d have done in their place. If I’d lived their life, would I have pulled the trigger too? Am I any better then the guy I see on TV hiding his face from the camera as he is escorted into court? I’ve never killed anyone, but I’ve never been tempted to kill anyone either. I’ve never beaten anyone but I’ve never been beaten either.

We live in a world where evil is relative. One mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter. One man’s rescuer is another’s enemy.

If two men shoot each other at the same moment, one because he is protecting his family, and the other because he is angry, they are both still killers. God says not to kill. Does it matter to God why we kill someone? Does it matter to God why we smoke drugs, get drunk, get in a fight, hurt someone, or even kill someone or ourselves? Does a good reason make it right? Or does it matter more to him that the real reason we are doing these things is because we don’t trust Him?

Can it possibly be inside God’s plan for your life that you take another person’s life? Or even hurt them? Or simply reject them?

Did Jesus ever kill someone?

If someone kills us, does that mean they should die?

Did Jesus attack the Romans when they tortured and killed Him?

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