because the time is short.

"What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on, those who have wives should live as if they had none; those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something as if it were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of the world as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away."

1 Corinthians 7:29-31

Dear friends! What will it take to awaken us to the raw fact of our mortality? You may not survive the decade, the year, the month! Your life is not your own, whether you can say that for you to live is Christ or not.

If the thought that tomorrow is not guaranteed does not inspire us, doesn't the knowledge that neither are the lives of those around us guaranteed? If we knew the hour of Christ's return, or the times set for their deaths, what kind of people would we be? Would we wait? Do we really know so little of the joy of life in Christ that we can't be bothered to see it embraced by others until the time is "more appropriate" or more desperate? Do we not already see the glaring signs of desperation and death and depression and disease and defeat and defiance all around us? What are we waiting for?

Dear friends, what will it take to awaken us to the glorious fact of our immortality? This present world is passing away, and do we prostitute ourselves to a vapor? Already our souls have outlived so many things--clothing, furniture, homes...We are not made for this place.

"Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation" (2 Peter 3:11-15).

Does God's patience, for us, merely mean more time to relax?

"How shall I feel at the judgment, if multitudes of missed opportunities pass before me in full review, and all my excuses prove to be disguises of my cowardice and pride?" ~ Dr. W.E. Sangster

But what to do with that cowardice and pride? We cannot shake them on our own, "But the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say 'no' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives..." (Titus 2:11,12)

May we ever look back to Christ on the cross as we move forward towards Christ on his throne."

Meditations on the The Matrix

There's a thrill that accompanies the observation of super-human powers. The instinct to worship is fanned into flame by fairy tales of flying men with lightning-fast reflexes.

"If only it were true--if only we had a Neo to follow who could rescue us from bondage into . . . " into what?

We rejoice to see "good" defeat evil with a combination of flare and fury that resembles our abilities enough to fuel day-dreams of achieving such greatness ourselves. But we are sick and twisted fools. Jesus Christ spoke and stilled the storm, commanded and cast out demons. Jesus Christ willed and walked on water.

He didn't need to know kung fu, or how to fly, or how to load a gun (though if He'd wanted to He could've learned without a computer program).

The real hero understood greatness and glory. He didn't come to destroy life to save. He came to sacrifice His own life to save. The Son of God cannot be contained by the tiny longings of men or be compared to the god-men they've invented. Jesus Christ is the infinite source of awe-inspiring power, the ultimate object worthy of complete and child-like and radical devotion.

But men pretend to be bored by Him, and make another movie filled with the glorification of sinful autonomy, faithless sex and dressed-up moral rebellion. They pretend to be bored by the sandaled Jew who talked a lot. They deliberately and desperately try and try to forget that the real God-man didn't stay dead either. And his resurrection was not the illogical result of a weak and human crush-kiss, but the outworking of the eternal plan of the infinite Father who loves his son with the infinite love that the natural man can only weep and wish to taste.

They fear this peaceful man, because there IS a fight between good and evil. And they know, deep down they know, that unlike their self-portraits that they've pasted into fairy-tales, they are the evil ones. And everyone knows the bad guys lose. Christ will return in glory to judge the living and the dead. There will be no contest. He needs no guns--he speaks and it comes to pass.

There is no fear in love though. and there IS a real world--an escape from the darkness into the glorious freedom of the children of God, not into the gloomy dungeons of man-made misery.

Long before someone dreamed-up Neo, the God who is love sent us a savior. Those who have met him know what is real. Those who have not have a choice. But there are no secrets--only the mystery of a God revealed. You can take the red pill, or the blue pill, but there is no uncertainty. This is sure: then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. Jesus says "I am the Truth". Forget the red pill. Christ's crimson blood flows for you.