Hebrews

“I’m spiritual, but I’m not religious.” Those words have become the mantra for this generation. What do these words mean? “I’m spiritual.” I’m in touch with powers out there and powers in here? I’m sensitive to the good energy that flows through the world and exists between people? I’m open to be touched by something larger than myself? “…but I’m not religious.” I don’t go to church. I don’t want people cramming rules down my throat. Wherever the answer is to be found, it won’t be in Christianity. “I’m spiritual, but I’m not religious.”

 I’ll never forget the day I discovered that God’s angel drives a gold Cadillac.
    When I was a Senior in college here at Milligan, my dad gave me his old black Volkswagen  that already had a couple hundred thousand miles on it to drive to school.  I loved that old car, but as any of you who have ever owned VW’s can attest, they’re not the most comfortable cars to drive, especially when it’s cold out.  And it was cold that December day when school let out for Christmas Break.  My fellow Bible Major Steve Mechem and I piled our stuff into Black Beauty and headed for Northern Indiana.  We put sleeping bags around our legs to keep warm, and stuffed rags into the holes in the floorboard where you could watch the road go by beneath your feet. 

    Tony Campolo calls us to become “Red-Letter Christians...” Christians who pay attention to the words of Jesus...people who try to build their lives on his tough and beautiful call to discipleship.  “In those red letters,” said Campolo, “(Jesus) calls us away from the consumerist values that dominate contemporary American consciousness. He calls us to be merciful, which has strong implications for how we think about capital punishment (and immigration, and enemy combatants, and poor humanities students...tr). When Jesus tells us to love our enemies, he probably means we shouldn’t kill them. Most important, if we take Jesus seriously, we will realize that meeting the needs of the poor is a primary responsibility for His followers.” Are we still talking baby talk, or are we growing up to maturity in Christ?