raising hell

evil wins… really?

Last week I was playing paintball at a local field and saw a guy wearing a shirt that said “evil wins”.

I literally laughed out loud at the guy as he walked by me. He didn’t look so comfortable. As I walked away grinning at the stupidity of it all, it made me start thinking…

There’s a phrase to ‘raise hell’. We joke around with the phrase “I’m gonna raise some hell!” but do we stop to consider what that actually means? It is more than a little disturbing. It usually refers to bringing chaos, destruction, pain, rebellion etc. to a certain situation. To literally raise Hell.

bringing heaven to earth

Recently, I’ve heard several men that I respect talking about the exact opposite. Instead of “raising hell” they discussed Bringing the Kingdom of God to earth. Literally. Living in such a way that little pieces of heaven are exposed through the way we live… To wage Peace.

kill or be killed?

Does that comes into play with the way we live? Honestly no one cares if you or I support Israel or Palestine or any other war in the world - So how can we be the Peacemakers God called us to be? Do you wage war to stop war? Do you threaten with destruction to stop destruction? Do you kill to stop killing? When does it all end?

Can we bring snapshots of peace to the world we live in through our actions?

truth, love & politics

I’m not sure the poilitics of any situation are as inexorably tied in to the reality of these struggles as many in our media would like us to think. When it comes down to it, the individuals involved in these struggles are all just people - people with kids and parents and brothers and sisters - people who feel pain and love and hurt and know joy and suffering.

what is the answer?

So what can we do to stop the violence and pain? So whats the answer? How do we Bring heaven to earth? When does love win?

It is not a matter of preaching love and peace on a street corner with a bullhorn or attending some political rally. The only way to truly make a difference is to actively live a life of overflowing love and peace to the people in my world, in the places I have some little bit of influence

Is that the entire answer? No, but it is a beginning. It is a place for each one of us to start... because, after all, love does win.