Rebellion

There was tragedy in Boston yesterday. Keep the victims and the family of the victims in your prayers– that they may once again get up and strive. As I watched the news coverage on the Boston attacks, I came to the conclusion that some group will come forward and claim this horror in the “name of God”. To those who already don’t believe in the idea of a loving God, this will just harden their hearts even more. And those of us who are looking for answers from Our God, we are left just as bewildered. Allow me to say it: No god, and definitely not Our God condones or takes pleasure in senseless violence. As such, this act of terror in Boston is an act of rebellion. An act of rebellion against any notion of god, and of course the Our God. Rebellion against God is as bad as witchcraft, and arrogance is as sinful as idolatry. Because you rejected the Lord’s command, He has rejected you as king. (1 Samuel 15:23) King Saul of Israel rebelled against God during his reign. He had sacrificed a lamb because God was supposedly not working fast enough, and decided to do the work of conquering and unifying the nation on his own. That is to say that the king performed what he believed was a religious rite and then went out to do detestable things in the name of God. (Many of you may have caught this in the “Bible” miniseries on the History Channel). The Prophet Samuel confronts the king and condemns him for his actions. Samuel says to Saul in conclusion, “God wants obedience over sacrifice.” You see, rebellion is every act short of complete obedience– even sacrifices to God can be rebellion, as they are in this case. Therefore, we are all called to obey the Word of God; that is, to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul and to love your neighbor (even if you don’t agree politically, ideologically, religiously with him/her), as you would love yourself. Let’s stop making excuses in the name of our God and completely obey His Word. Let’s then see how our world changes.