7/31/2019 MMW Society is Fractured

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Our Society is FracturedWe live in a fractured society. Even blind Freddie would acknowledge the truth of thestatement. We may be at peace with our environment especially from a faithperspective but that is a very insular stance, one that does not notice the dysfunction

around us.Jesus never missed the dysfunction in His world; in fact He went out of His way topoint out where there was inequality. This was a large part of His teaching ministryleading up to His ultimate act that being to offer reconciliation between the world andHis Father.

We should keep in the forefront of our vision that one of the early statements of theSon of Man was that He came to seek and save those who are lost. He wentfurther to claim that He did not come for the well but for those who are sick. Then atthe end of His work after He declared that it is over He appeared to His disciplesand asserted that all Hs disciples were to pick up the bundle, so to speak, and

continue the work that He had already completed.

There is an apparent disconnect in the last paragraph I know, one that I will pick uphere. Jesus in the crucifixion comment declared reconciliation available to allthrough His offering on the cross: what He did not do was take the problem (sin)away. The world He left behind when He ascended to the Father was still fracturedand beset with problems, the difference that we were capable of conquering sin inour lives and offering that to others by their being reconciled to Father.

So our mission if we accept it is to offer to others the truth that they can make adifference in their environment and in their lives by their submission to Jesus theLord of Life. I am not here just talking about laying the Good News on people and

leaving them to their own devices. Most people look for the evidence before they areready to commit to anything even in their own personal level.

Jesus in His charge to us about picking up the bundle, was all about us making adifference in our world; just as He did. When He declared that the Kingdom nowwas spoke of a kingdom that was and was not. A kingdom on earth made up of Hisfollowers and who were reaching out to others to help them to encounter Him so theycould be reconciled to the Father.

How do we achieve this end, fixing the fracture in our society? It is not a single allconsuming plan. The reason is that people are very individual; they seek evidencein many different ways. It is up to us to build bridges of reconciliation so that others

may walk across them and become partners in the work

We must work out, lead by Gods Spirit, how we can make a difference in otherslives. For some may be attracted by social programs that others feel discomfort inbeing offered. Others may need a friend who can see God at work in our lives whichoffers hope to them; this can be especially true in the workplace.

It is as we reach out to others that we bring the kingdom closer in our concern aboutthe environment in which we encounter people. It is also true that as we serve theMaster so others see our faith in action and as we place these two concerns togetherwe form a cross of caring for others (the horizontal span) and living for the Master asthe vertical element..