Rescue

The world needs to be rescued.  With the freefall, uncertainty, and chaos one finds everywhere one looks, it is hard to see how we will work our way out of this mess.  I am reluctant to add my view on the cause, mostly because I think there is plenty of blame to put on many different doorsteps.  We are living with the results of greed, arrogance, willful blindness, intentional ignorance, and deceit.  It is not your fault or mine, and yet we are a part of the community that shares in the responsibility for the past, future, and most importantly the present.
There are times when it is easier to run away instead of confronting the problem.  In one crisis for a man known as Saul, “when his friends learned of the plot, they got him out of town, took him to Caesarea, and then shipped him off to Tarsus.”  (Acts 9.30)  In our case, this is not an option.  We must, will live with the results of the crisis we are in.  The only question is how we respond.
Ironically, this is the same question that we face every morning when we wake up.  How should and will we respond to the day and moment at hand.  Will mercy be a part of behavior?  Do we recognize our role and responsibilities in the family (community)?  Is there an intentional shape to our behavior or are we merely responding?  Where does compassion fit?  What are our priorities and values?  The answer to these questions will shape our decisions in the moment we have.
If I have any wisdom to add, it is this.  What made me valuable yesterday is the same as it is today.  It is not measured by stock values or net worth.  God determined this long ago.  We are priceless children of Divinity.  In our embrace with God, we are rescued.  In our walking and living with the Spirit, we experience the beginnings of a new world.  It is the way out of this mess.  God is always present, reaching out in love.