Revolution

“…and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot”


“So if you know the words, Then try to sing along,
And when you get the beat, Grab a hammer, bang a gong
Cuz you don't got to fight. Or make yourself belong
To be a revolution, yeah, To be a revolution”---Jars of Clay

If you read the news or listen to radio much you get whiffs of it, revolution is in the air. We live in a country that as its heritage has the Boston Tea Party. Currently we are taxed to excess. Our courts are in chaos, gold has rusted and chaos seems to rule. Being rebellious by nature I gravitate toward excess and would count Simon the Zealot as an ally.

Being a Christ follower doesn’t allow for that type of rebellion. Rebel against lies and injustice, yes, but not against rulers and authorities. Rattling cages has to be done legally and above board. The revolution has to be inside of me working its way out.

Tony Campolo said that during the Civil Rights Movement when he saw people being forcibly sprayed with hoses he knew we had won. That type of revolution isn’t glorious, isn’t glamourous. That type of revolution goes against my desire for comfort as true revolutions must. Truth ever brings me back to that main point. It is what comes from inside me that either defiles me or promotes others.  It is Christ living in and through me that will change the world.


"I am coming to feel that the people of ill will have used time much more effectively than the people of goodwill. We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people. We must come to see that human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability. It comes through the tireless efforts and persistent work of men willing to be co-workers with God, and without this hard work time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation.---Martin Luther King, Jr.