Wednesday, September 7, 2011

conviction

hello, my dearsies :) i hope your wednesday has gone well. mine has too.

i was reading from the book In His Steps, my history reading assignment, and this paragraph was so beautiful to me. it was also so convicting.

so, don't read this if you want to stay in your comfortable little Christian cubby-hole that is your life, without ever being challenged to live like Jesus would. (i'm talking to myself here too.....yes, i'm going to read the paragraph again.)

Background of the text: A recently converted homeless woman, Loreen, has just been killed by someone under the influence of strong liquor. This book was written in 1979; takes place probably in the late 1800's.



"And yet, this is only one woman out of thousands killed by this drink evil. Crowd back, now, ye sinful men and women in this filthy street! Let this august, dead form be borne through your stupefied sobered ranks! She was one of your children. The Rectangle had stamped the image of the beast on her. Thank Him who died for sinners, that the other image of a new soul now shines out of her pale clay! Crowd back! Give them room! Let her pass reverently, followed and surrounded by the weeping, awestruck company of Christians. Ye killed her, ye drunken murderers! And yet, and yet, O Christian America! who killed this woman? Stand back! Silence, there! A woman has been killed. Who? Loreen. Child of the streets. Poor, drunken, vile sinner! O Lord God, how long, how long? Yes. The saloon killed her. That is, the Christians of America who license the saloon. And the Judgment Day only shall declare who was the murderer of Loreen."



this particular excerpt deals with liquor, but i think we could replace that with any number of sins that the Church puts up with and lets go while we pretend to not be aware of it. Or worse, we may think that we are too small or insignificant to do anything to change the present circumstances.

how insulting to our God to think that way!
does he not say that we can do ALL things through Him?!?!

why, then, do we think we are powerless??

we are not powerless.
we are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, brothers and sisters in Christ.
and Christ has overcome this world.



i'm off to do geometry now!
toodles, and hallelujah :)

5 comments:

Carol said...

Shelby, you never cease to impress me! You always have such wonderful things to say. It's so encouraging. :)Miss ya!

Shelby Grace said...

wow, thanks, Caroline!! you are too sweet :)
i miss seeing you too! how's school been going??

Carol said...

it's going well! I'm finally in the swing of it again.:) How about you??
:)

Shelby Grace said...

good! me too, although my life is A LOT busier this school year for some reason...haha :)

Carol said...

I know how that is!:) lol