Posts Tagged Babylon
Lohan, Gibson, and the anti-babylon
Posted by annaldavis in Everything Else on July 13, 2010
Last week Lindsay Lohan was sentenced to 90 days in jail for violating probation. Did you catch her secret message? And this week we were all saddened as the darker side of Mel Gibson surfaced once again, on tapes recorded by his ex-girlfriend. But I guess this is what we’ve come to expect. Such is life in our modern-day Babylon.
Celebrities often think they can get away with anything from abusive behavior to an F-word sketched on fingernail polish in court. By their actions they say “I am, and there is no one besides me.” But it’s not just celebrities.
We sit in judgment behind our TV and computer screens, from behind the pages of People magazine. We judge both appearance and behavior as if from a heavenly throne, as if we’re God. And yet our own secrets enslave us again and again.
It’s hard to imagine anything different, but there is something different available.
The anti-Babylon is a place where:
1) Secrets are revealed not by the National Enquirer, but by hearts being set free from shame and enslavement.
2) Humility rather than pride guides our actions, and our responses to those around us who suffer.
3) We see all people – famous and marginalized alike—through the eyes of love, with compassion and hope.
4) We neither falsely elevate nor condemn ourselves and others, for we will be able to see clearly.
5) We don’t need celebrities to feel good about ourselves, and where celebrities are free to fight their battles without our constant judgment.
6) God will fill the holes in our heart with His love and will redeem our darkness with His light.
“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” Mark 1:15
the anti-Babylon
Posted by annaldavis in Everything Else on June 20, 2010
Do you have trouble seeing the Kingdom of God? Have you been in church your whole life, and you still have yet to see any evidence in the real world for this heavenly Kingdom we read so much about in the Bible? You know sometimes we need to see the darkness before we can recognize and appreciate the Light.
That’s why I started this new category called “the anti-Babylon.” Our culture is so steeped in Babylonian thinking that we think it’s normal. We often don’t question it, not even in churches. But the trouble is that it can be really difficult to SEE GOD from Babylon, when Babylon is all you have known.
Take simplicity, for example. Jesus was all about a simple ministry. There was no fanfare, no hours spent at the synagogue preparing for His Sermon on the Mount. He didn’t need millions of dollars, top-quality sound equipment, or a special prayer chamber. He just prayed, and spoke. And He told His disciples to do the same.
Here’s another example — evangelism. “You must have all the answers, you know. You’ve got to understand and be able to give a summary of all 66 books of the Bible, before you even dare to evangelize. Or you need to go to some kind of seminary school to be qualified.” If that’s the case, then I’ll just throw in the towel right now.
But what about all those people who Jesus healed? They COULDN’T WAIT to tell others about what Jesus had done for them! And that’s what evangelism should be. Not this big, puffed up thing, but just telling others what Christ has done for us. Jesus has saved you from something, as surely as He has saved me. He has healed us, changed us. He has freed us from a prison of sin and darkness. I can’t wait to tell you about it!
See the difference? Babylon likes to make things complicated and excessive. Jesus was neither of these things.
So it may be helpful to think of the Kingdom of God as the ultimate anti-Babylon.
seeing God’s Kingdom (the shimmer and rhythm)
Posted by annaldavis in Everything Else on June 16, 2010
Someday I will see things with my eyes that I can only imagine now. Flying creatures like birds, bizzare creatures that make earth’s strangest animals seem normal. I will soar through the air like that great scene from Avatar, colorfully geared for battle and surrounded by fellow warriors. We will shoot down the enemy — the great oppressor of all that is good and just and pure. Our victory dance will exceed any celebration you have ever known.
Someday, I tell myself wistfully. Someday.
Or today?
Jesus said the Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure in a field, like a net lowered into a lake, like a tiny mustard seed that grew into a tree, like a merchant looking for fine pearls, like a small amount of yeast that spread through the dough. In all these examples the Kingdom starts out small and hidden, and grows into something of great and massive value.
The analogy is true within myself. My understanding of the Kingdom of Heaven used to be small and narrow, based on what I did right or wrong that day. Over time I have searched for the Kingdom, and let me tell you it can be hard to find. There is so much deception in our world. But through the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ, my understanding began to grow and now I see the Kingdom more than before. Not perfectly. Still “as in a mirror, dimly.” But MORE.
Do you see God’s Kingdom now?
He’s building it into something beautiful and unshakable. There is adventure and glory, love and acceptance. You will want to stay forever. Do you see it?
(For the background to this post title, click here.)
