Monday Morning Rant 27

We have been blessed this weekend with a house guest. Our brother in Christ, Hartley Stanbridge has been visiting.

Yesterday, we joined with the congregation in Miami, Oklahoma for Sunday school, and a communion service with the venerable Roy Reis providing the message. We all retired to a local restaurant for companionship and sprightly conversation. Despite having lively discussions, we were overjoyed to be with others who are “on the same page.” We are all strident apologists of the faith but it is sometimes a relief not to have that as our primary role.

This later led to discussions of the conflict of religion and faith. Messianic zeal is wholly appropriate when the actual Messiah is present or felt in the midst of the faithful. For the true believer, there is little doubt of the presence of the Holy Spirit. Our lives are filled with testimony, both ours and others, of His presence and activity in our daily lives. Who has not been thrilled by a brother or sister miraculously healed or otherwise assisted? When directed to a solution to one of life’s myriad problems we rejoice in the response of the Lord to our entreaties. Sharing these events form a vital part of the foundation of our total belief system. We constantly have opportunities to share these happenings both in formal and informal settings.

We are surrounded in the “world” also by those who seek to advance a particular cause or agenda by attaching that assumed level of fervor. However, fervor without the favor of God is insufficient to advance the supposedly noblest cause. It can easily generate excitement by taking on the trappings of religious zeal but lacks the “real meat” to permanently advance what ever they seek. Among others, socialism, global warming, political candidates, and other endless crusades attempt to wrap themselves in a cloak of righteousness to advance their cause. They all require that we accept on faith their tenets for some future success. Lacking the constant input of testimonies and hard evidence they must rely on emotional appeals and utopian dreams. One battle cry has become so common it has become a cliché; “it’s for the children.” This tiresome claim joins other emotional appeals to support the cause “de jour.” These folks do satisfy one of the definitions of religion inasmuch as they do proclaim their beliefs in blind obedience.

Given the happy circumstances over the weekend, I think I’ll stick with the real McCoy.

I’m off to entertain our guest but I do promise more soon.

In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon