Monday, July 15, 2019
661 - For God's Sake
Spirituality Column
#661
July 16, 2019
Common Christianity
/ Uncommon Commentary
For God’s Sake
By Bob Walters
“I can do all things
through Him who strengthens me.” – Paul, Philippians 4:13
The upcoming quote – a verbatim Instagram from 2015 by someone you never heard of – showed up in select media last week. As an all-purpose, plenary statement of Christian love, doctrine, trust, and obedience, I couldn’t have put it much better.
Read it slowly, let it soak in, and then we’ll talk.
“Jesus didn't come to save those who already believed in Him. He came so that the lost, rejected, and abandoned men and women would find Him and believe. I believe with every fiber in my body that what was written 2,000 years ago in the Bible is undoubtedly true. It's not a fictional book. It's not a pick and choose what you want to believe. You either believe it, or you don't. This world may change, but Christ and His Word NEVER will.
“My heart is that as Christians we don't begin to throw a tantrum over what has been brought into law today, but we become that much more loving. That through our love, the lost, rejected, and abandoned find Christ. The rainbow was a [covenant] made between God and all his creation that never again would the world be flooded as it was when He destroyed the world during Noah's time. It's a constant reminder that no matter how corrupt this world becomes, He will never leave us or forsake us. Thank you Lord for your amazing grace, even during times of trial and confusion.
“Love won over 2,000 years ago when the greatest sacrifice of all time was made for ALL mankind.”
Wow. Jaelene Hinkle, 22 years old at the time, penned that remarkable witness of Jesus’s love and sacrifice in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 Obergfell ruling affirming same-sex marriage. Note that it is a statement of belief and trust, not of anger or derision. Note the rainbow reference. Note the very inclusive “ALL mankind.”
Jesus came for all: in grace, with courage, and even unto death … trusting God.
With grace and courage, Jaelene also experienced a death due to her faith in God: the death of her dream to play soccer for the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT). After much prayer, she declined a 2017 invitation onto the team for June exhibition matches during which the team would wear rainbow jerseys celebrating Gay Pride month. “I felt convicted that it was not my job to wear that jersey,” she said.
Without bitterness.
Playing for the pro Carolina Courage, Jaelene is called by some “the finest left-back in the NWSL” and now at age 26 was not invited back onto the 2019 U.S. women’s world cup championship team. A newspaper noted, “Hinkle likely would have been a fish out of water on the uber-woke women’s national team.” It’s hard to disagree.
We saw the team’s activist and desolately profane character in many cantos during and after its championship run. They won the Cup. Yet to me it is Jaelene’s faith that reveals a true champion’s strength not for what she did, but for what she did not do.
For God’s sake.
Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) notes that athletes everywhere love Philippians 4:13, often skipping over the notion that God loves us all equally, including the other team. And oh, did I mention? Jaelene is African-American; that would have made two on the ideologically sovereign but not especially racially diverse team. FYI. See links about Jaelene at: USWNT Snubs Star | Daily Wire and Snub sparks debate – Wash. Times.
The upcoming quote – a verbatim Instagram from 2015 by someone you never heard of – showed up in select media last week. As an all-purpose, plenary statement of Christian love, doctrine, trust, and obedience, I couldn’t have put it much better.
Read it slowly, let it soak in, and then we’ll talk.
“Jesus didn't come to save those who already believed in Him. He came so that the lost, rejected, and abandoned men and women would find Him and believe. I believe with every fiber in my body that what was written 2,000 years ago in the Bible is undoubtedly true. It's not a fictional book. It's not a pick and choose what you want to believe. You either believe it, or you don't. This world may change, but Christ and His Word NEVER will.
“My heart is that as Christians we don't begin to throw a tantrum over what has been brought into law today, but we become that much more loving. That through our love, the lost, rejected, and abandoned find Christ. The rainbow was a [covenant] made between God and all his creation that never again would the world be flooded as it was when He destroyed the world during Noah's time. It's a constant reminder that no matter how corrupt this world becomes, He will never leave us or forsake us. Thank you Lord for your amazing grace, even during times of trial and confusion.
“Love won over 2,000 years ago when the greatest sacrifice of all time was made for ALL mankind.”
Wow. Jaelene Hinkle, 22 years old at the time, penned that remarkable witness of Jesus’s love and sacrifice in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 Obergfell ruling affirming same-sex marriage. Note that it is a statement of belief and trust, not of anger or derision. Note the rainbow reference. Note the very inclusive “ALL mankind.”
Jesus came for all: in grace, with courage, and even unto death … trusting God.
With grace and courage, Jaelene also experienced a death due to her faith in God: the death of her dream to play soccer for the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT). After much prayer, she declined a 2017 invitation onto the team for June exhibition matches during which the team would wear rainbow jerseys celebrating Gay Pride month. “I felt convicted that it was not my job to wear that jersey,” she said.
Without bitterness.
Playing for the pro Carolina Courage, Jaelene is called by some “the finest left-back in the NWSL” and now at age 26 was not invited back onto the 2019 U.S. women’s world cup championship team. A newspaper noted, “Hinkle likely would have been a fish out of water on the uber-woke women’s national team.” It’s hard to disagree.
We saw the team’s activist and desolately profane character in many cantos during and after its championship run. They won the Cup. Yet to me it is Jaelene’s faith that reveals a true champion’s strength not for what she did, but for what she did not do.
For God’s sake.
Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) notes that athletes everywhere love Philippians 4:13, often skipping over the notion that God loves us all equally, including the other team. And oh, did I mention? Jaelene is African-American; that would have made two on the ideologically sovereign but not especially racially diverse team. FYI. See links about Jaelene at: USWNT Snubs Star | Daily Wire and Snub sparks debate – Wash. Times.
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