This past week, I happened upon a CNN headline
that made drew a chuckle, accompanied by great
sadness. “Christian school asks parents to sign
contract that could exclude gay and transgender
students.” Imagine a Christian school holding
Christian moral beliefs.
The article describes a petition to get the school to lighten up on that “hatefulness.” It also talks about “unlawful discrimination.” This article is not about events in our country, but events in Australia. Yet it has reached a point where it would not be shocking to read about this in our country. The world hates God and his “unreasonable” and “hateful” rules. By extension, the world hates us when we hold to the principles of morality God gave us. We know nothing of the persecution of the past in this present moment, but we do know at least a bit about the stress navigating all this can place on us as we see the world moving back toward a more persecuting mentality toward Christ followers. Jesus told his disciples in John 16:33b, “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
That’s why we worship here this morning. We are called; we are summoned. The world does not understand why we’re not cowering in fear. But it’s because we worship the one who has overcome the world!