When the cultures of the world unite to proclaim, “We are one”,
and you stand apart shaking your head:
knowing that there are too many differences to warrant
such a declaration that sounds like a paid Ad(vertisement)
or when the religions of the world gather to declare a citizenship of one,
playmates in the same bed - this world and the religions;
the global affair goes on for it is never satisfied,
the appetite for 'the more" borders on the abuse and misuse
of each other, a demand for the fall of the moral increases.
There is no love and no synergy,
just the lust of the flesh and eyes, and the pride of life
manifesting and morphing into a false unity of sorts,
and the tolerated is crushed by the intolerant
professing a false peace that is no peace.
Can there be any true respect or love when
cultures and religions invite the fake into a pseudo-unity of being one?
And you stand apart, the fool for Christ,
knowing that God allowed the diversity of cultures
to add depth, colour and meaning into life,
knowing that the lip service of all religions to declare
their sense of unity is nothing more than that.
And you stand apart, the fool for Christ,
knowing that God calls all into personal thoughts and expressions
of wisdom that come together at His time to raise the other
into honor, purity and godly power.
For it is only in the relationship with God and friendship with each other
that unity is born, found and advanced.
And you stand apart, the fool for Christ,
knowing that many, perhaps all, have failed desperately
to offer the respect, the tolerance that propels
the other to a position of honour;
instead, shame, fear and guilt are companions in life’s journey
- oh! that torment of dishonor that tears your heart apart
unless you begin from the start
in bended knees and a humble heart
to be soothed by the balm of Gilead,
the healing perfume for a suffering soul.
And you stand apart, the fool for Christ,
knowing the root cause for many wars -
that religions,
the desire for cultural superiority
and the commitment to prove one’s super-powers in all life aspects
have been historically and generationally innate.
The play for power disguised as the unity of the citizenship of one
when in reality, the Power remains in the Hands of The ONE
Who is Sovereign, Supreme and Sanctified.
You, the fool for Christ, have a choice
To accept the weaker agenda of the citizenship of one
Or to pursue the perfect plans of the Sovereign, Supreme and Sanctified ONE God.
And you stand apart, the fool for Christ.
And I stand apart, the fool for Christ.
1 Corinthians 4: 10a We are fools for Christ. . .
May your 2024 be filled with a triple portion of grace and love in Christ,
Rachel
Dear Dr. Rachel, your blog is a timely message and an important one, written in a poetic form also make it more engaging to readers like myself. But what stood out for me is its content the Spirit downloaded for you before the year ends. The agenda of world religions seek to universalise themselves at the expense of particularity and diversity. Ideologies like global capitalism, universal Islamic state, even Christian imperialism, are universalist cultures. We see it through history: Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, medieval Christianity, Enlightenment (argues Richard Bauckham in Bible and Mission). God is the author of diversity and to be fool for Christ is to respect such diversity. Similarly, Christianity is no longer western, it is global. An…