It’s about revolution. It’s about splashing the kingdom of God all around. Generally I’m not one for war imagery and war metaphors, but it’s difficult to ignore the connotation when you’re talking about a “revolution.”
I am not an expert on warfare, but it seems to me there are two basic ways to engage in a modern-day war. One is shock and awe. This is when the balance of power is on your side, so you move in the troops, roll in the tanks, and drop bombs from above. The goal is to rapidly destroy your enemies and force them into quick submission. I wonder if, as Christians, we’ve relied on “shock and awe”, tactics too much. We’ve tried to attract people to Christianity through our big church buildings, slick presentations, cool music, and quality programs.
The other way is guerrilla warfare. Guerrilla warfare is a method employed when you’re outnumbered by the opposing force. Guerrilla warfare relies on intelligence. You must outthink the enemy. It also relies on espionage. You must know your opponents, being able to discern where they are, how they think, and what they’ll do next.
Guerrilla warfare features strategic surprise attacks. You must hit your opponents when they’re not expecting it. These ambushes are usually low-intensity, close-proximity confrontations. You don’t have the firepower to blast away from a distance, so you sneak up close, hit ‘em quick, and get out of there. I admit this metaphor breaks down quickly because those we’re trying to reach are not our opponents or enemies. They are the people Jesus loves, and we’re bringing his love to them. But you get the point. It’s a guerrilla revolution. And it’s a love revolution, so we are to wage guerrilla lovefare. The best way to attract people is through how we live and love. We are guerrilla lovers.
Read Ephesians 2:4-10. The passage begins by mentioning God’s love toward us, his grace toward us, and his kindness toward us. It is because of God’s love, grace, and kindness that he sent Jesus and we can now be made alive in him. How are you doing at accepting and applying God’s love, grace, and kindness in your life? The passage then says that we are not saved by our good works, but once we have allowed Jesus to save us, we are to do good works. Why do you think so many people get the order confused and try to do good works to earn God’s favor, rather than doing them as a grateful response to God’s favor? Verse 10 says that God has good works “prepared in advance for us to do.” Have you ever thought about the fact that as you go through your day, God has already planned out good works he’d like for you to do? How might having that mind-set change the way you live? The passage says that we are God’s “workmanship.” The word translated workmanship can also be translated as poetry. The idea is that God is an artist who wants to make something beautiful out of our lives. How do you think really accepting God’s love into our lives and then giving it away in acts of guerrilla love could make our lives into something beautiful? What do you think God might be trying to say to you through these questions? What will you do about it?
Our culture and the media shape how a!nd what we think: then we are convinced that we are ENTILED TO IT (whatever IT is) Guerrilla lovers CAN transform that,by being part of the revolution. We (I) must be workers as well as believers:first to open our minds (not to be blind to Everything Belongs”. gRACE and Peace Hal
Just wanted to let the group know that I did complete our task of doing something for someone else. I was able to find a web site : lettertosoldiers.org and I was able to write a “thank you” note to a soldier. I also sent two care packages from that site for two soldiers overseas that needs a pick me up.