This past weekend, social media and blogs and news websites lit up with debate and descriptions and arguments for and against the movie Fifty Shades of Grey. A movie about a dark and, by most accounts, abusive relationship has captivated the West, whether you were for or against it. (For the record, I am strongly against it.) The news on Saturday was how much money it made on its opening day, Valentine's Day, a day meant to celebrate love.
The news on Sunday was a different sort. Twenty-one men, Coptic Christians, had been brutally executed for no reason other than their faith in Jesus. They were obscure men, by most standards, whose names and faces would never have been known to the world, except for the manner and reason for their deaths.
On Valentine's Day, thousands of voices argued about what true love is, some insisting that Fifty Shades is anything but real love, others arguing that how people want to show "love" is no one's business but their own.
By Valentine's Day, 21 voices had been forever silenced on Earth, in a thunderous explanation of what real love is.
The news on Sunday was a different sort. Twenty-one men, Coptic Christians, had been brutally executed for no reason other than their faith in Jesus. They were obscure men, by most standards, whose names and faces would never have been known to the world, except for the manner and reason for their deaths.
On Valentine's Day, thousands of voices argued about what true love is, some insisting that Fifty Shades is anything but real love, others arguing that how people want to show "love" is no one's business but their own.
By Valentine's Day, 21 voices had been forever silenced on Earth, in a thunderous explanation of what real love is.
"Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you.…" (John 15:13-14)
True love? You won't find it in an erotic novel or a movie. Sad to say, you won't find it in a lot of real-life relationships. But it's real.
You'll find it on a beach in Libya, and on a Cross in Galilee.
"To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps." 1 Peter 2:21
True love? You won't find it in an erotic novel or a movie. Sad to say, you won't find it in a lot of real-life relationships. But it's real.
You'll find it on a beach in Libya, and on a Cross in Galilee.
"To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps." 1 Peter 2:21
It makes me wonder - what if? What if true persecution came here? Or is my idea of persecution wondering if someone will unfriend me because I dissed their movie? Wondering if my neighbor will be offended if I extend an invitation to a Bible study?
While I do not want to minimize the importance of talking about entertainment trends and how they impact real choices in the real world, because those things still need to be spoken of, the image most emblazoned on my mind from this weekend is not a well-dressed billionaire in a grey suit, but an ordinary man in an orange jumpsuit getting ready to enter glory.
And a Savior getting ready to welcome him and his brothers, and even those who wielded the swords in their deaths, if they would but embrace the truth that the Son of God died to set them free from sin, and that He rose to conquer death, whether by the sword or sickness or simply from living out one's days on this Earth.
"Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him...Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow." James 1:12, 15-16
This...this is Love, with no shades of grey. May we aspire to it, imitate it, embrace it, cling to it, and share it every day, regardless of the consequences, until He calls us home.
While I do not want to minimize the importance of talking about entertainment trends and how they impact real choices in the real world, because those things still need to be spoken of, the image most emblazoned on my mind from this weekend is not a well-dressed billionaire in a grey suit, but an ordinary man in an orange jumpsuit getting ready to enter glory.
And a Savior getting ready to welcome him and his brothers, and even those who wielded the swords in their deaths, if they would but embrace the truth that the Son of God died to set them free from sin, and that He rose to conquer death, whether by the sword or sickness or simply from living out one's days on this Earth.
"Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him...Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow." James 1:12, 15-16
This...this is Love, with no shades of grey. May we aspire to it, imitate it, embrace it, cling to it, and share it every day, regardless of the consequences, until He calls us home.
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