A Sense of Place (Town Crier part 2)

"And He could there do no mighty work, save that He laid His hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And He marvelled because of their unbelief. And He went round about the villages, teaching." (Mark 6:5-6, emphasis mine)

I believe our cities shape us. To a degree, the place we're planted will form our outlook on life. It's real hard not to get caught up in the prevailing attitude of your town. And why wouldn't you? It's not like cities and the folks therein purposely want to keep you out. Thing about Jesus though, is that He preached things that ran so against the grain that in order for the status quo to remain, one man had to go. It happened in the city in which He healed the man possessed with the legion and in Jerusalem too. Though in the latter, He was put to death. All for espousing something that ran contrary to embedded belief.

"Blessed is the man whom Thou choosest, and causest to approach unto Thee, that he may dwell in Thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of Thy house, even of Thy holy temple." (Psalm 65:4)

Word on the street

He tells Pilate that if His "kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight," (John 18:36). In other words, He came from a place and while He accepted customs and norms befitting one born on earth, that which He carried had no commensurate witness where He went. He tells the centurion that He had "not found so great faith, no, not in Israel." (Matthew 8:10) Evidently, He'd been looking. This bring me back to the verse from Jeremiah.

"And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace." (Jeremiah 29:7)

See, if you don't feel at home in spite of actually living within that atmosphere, pray. The only reason you feel disconnected is because you are. This is a coveted place to be. And it isn't about being "revolutionary" or off the grid for its own sake. The world is a very different place. I believe it begins with the distinction Paul refers to in Romans (8:7) as "the carnal mind". He says it "is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." The way you think, as you have "the mind of Christ", is as radically different from the way of the world as Jesus' way of thinking was during His time. Referring real quick to the verse from Psalms above the bolded line, you're exactly where He wants you to be. You might feel weird and off and an outcast. But dig deeper and you'll feel God. He wants to use you to affect, not just your town, but the world at large.

Homeward Bound (Town Crier part 3)

Town Crier