out of sight...out of...

I read an article in last weeks Time mag that has yet to escape my thoughts.

It saddens me that I have become narrow minded in my faith. it saddens me more that although I try with great energy, a christian worldview seems more elusive now than it was last year.

all things tend to be filtered through the net of Americana. all that is good and well, sucessful and fullness of belly. and while I allow my thoughts to scan the horizon of foreign shores and all the horror that is their reality, I have realized that I just don't care.

after all, the 4 million who have died in the Congo during the civil war there is not my reality. nither is the earthquake in java, nor was the tsunami. as horrible and sad as these events are and were, the sadness and desire to help fades quickly from my thoughts. besides, my church is not doing enough. I have to complain about that.

and we all know that there are much more pressing issues here. like music styles, whether or not church people treat me nice, carpet color, where to eat tonight, what to wear tomorrow, and most importantly...church people are still mean.

4 million people. dead.

Ruwanda.

Darfur.

Yogoslavia.

death. hate.

ipod. outback. movies. new cars. pick up shirts from the cleaners. trips to theme parks. youth camp. base tan. 100.00 tennis shoes. laptop. triple shot venti white choclate mocha.

so. the truth is, most of us fail to understand the importance of a world view. becasue we tend to view Jesus as a white, blue eyed pretty boy, it hampers our ability to look beyond our borders. not only with our eyes, but with the eyes of our children.

is it true? are we actually just one generation away from losing our world vision?

can we as believers actually be so close to not passing on to our children an active faith that pursues the God of heaven and earth and by example teach them to settle for an american version that is really only concerned with the well being and beauty and success of this country?

I believe so.

I could be wrong though. after all, all we need worry about is that we just tell each other it is all about love. right? I wonder how much love those in Darfur feel now. or how loved those in the Congo feel.

as i journey down the narrow way, I am finding it more and more difficult to justify one word catch phrases that fail to deal with the reality of all that is happening in the world.

Luke 13:1-9
Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 And Jesus said to them, " Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? 3 "I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 "Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? 5 "I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."
6 And He began telling this parable: "A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. 7 "And he said to the vineyard-keeper, 'Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?' 8 "And he answered and said to him, 'Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; 9 and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.'"

perception is not reality.