Monday, October 22, 2012

OWEN



Good morning! I am Owen Weddle, Associate Pastor at Central.



Power and rights are like a delicious meal. As Americans, we think if we can get stronger or if we can assert ourselves more, we can have a life of prosperity, popularity, and peace.  The Constitution is built on this idea. We build ourselves up so our life goes the way we want and people will listen to us. But like any food, too much is unhealthy and can destroy your heart. We can become imprisoned in the shackles of narcissism and only care about ourselves, not others.



But in the book of Genesis, God tells Abraham that HE will bless Abraham and make Abraham's name great; Abraham doesn’t do it himself. The only thing God tells Abraham to do is to go into a new land, instead of staying in his homeland where the security of his family resided. If Abraham is faithful to that call, God would bless and increase Abraham's reputation. Abraham could then act in love towards others instead of being self-absorbed.



Only when we are concerned more about God's concerns and not our own can we both genuinely love others and experience true blessing.



May God bless you!