June 2023: Under Pressure

Under pressure…

An old friend of mine (memory eternal) used a pressure cooker. I was always so amazed by how quickly it cooked her food. When it was time to eat the meal, I was cognizant that there was danger in not depressurizing the pot before taking the lid off. If you were hasty and lifted the lid without proper care, you would potentially have intensely hot steam burst into your face. The mechanism that made the pot so efficient also gave it an element of danger. This reminds me of the early Christians and their persecutions. Their belief in the one, true God set their lives on the right course, yet this very belief exposed them to danger, even to potential death.

In our lives today, we see the pressure starting to build as the world around us is heating up. We see confusion, bewilderment, and the upheaval of normalcy as our culture brings all things into question and inquiry. That which was accepted as truth is being called untrue and that which was fringe is now being brought in as normative. We must carefully navigate these turbulent waters as Christians. The church is our refuge from these stormy waters and, as such, we must embark her as Noah did with his family on the Ark. Our church…The Church…will bring us to safe harbors, will guide us through this sea of turbulence and will direct us to stay on the right course. There will be rough waters, patchy spots, and terrible storms. Of all this, our Savior has warned us. But His words bring comfort and relieve us from the pressure of the world when he says…

Matthew 28:20

“Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”