Wednesday, August 29, 2012

"the Spirit said unto Philip" - Be a Local Hero



Be a Local Hero outside the US

Christ Jesus did not advance to Rome to conquer the world.

He could convert Romans into Judaism or Christianity but He didn't.

Rather, Christ told not to go to the way for foreigners.  He said that He came to directly rescue and save poor Israelites.

So, Christ positioned himself as a descendant of Abraham and one member of Israelites of the era 2000 years ago.

But from His work on poor Israelites, His power extended to the whole Roman Empire.  And along with time, it reached whole Europe and areas beyond it.  Now Christianity is the most influential religion in the world as it prevails in North America as well as Latin America.

So, from ancient Israel to the United States of today, the teaching of Christ Jesus took a long journey.  History looks meaningful only for this expansion of Christianity.

In this context, the American political and social involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan should be viewed though it is through the War on Terror.  This movement can be interpreted as that Christianity is moving from the US to the Islamic world if not simply superseding Islam.

Further, the unique relationship between the US and China can be also interpreted as symbolizing movement of Christianity from North America to the Asian Continent.

Indeed, even before WWII, more than 1,000 missions were dispatched from the US to China.  American Christian organizations have been eager to teach Christianity especially to Chinese.

But from the beginning, if Christ Jesus had converted all the ancient Romans to Judaism or Christianity and helped the Roman Empire conquer the whole Arabic region, Persia, India, and China, Christianity should have diffused and prevailed more easily to the today's Islamic world and the continental Asia without waiting for the foundation of the US.

Or, even by sacrificing this easier path, Christ Jesus decided to first save and cure poor and sick Israelites for his extraordinary love to Israelites.  

It also means that Christ Jesus teaches everybody outside the US to first save and help people where he or she lives but not to come to the US trying to save the world or anything else.

A great mission must start in a local place (but neither in the Roman Empire nor in the US), which must be a lesson we should learn from the great story of Christ Jesus.


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Act 8:29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.