Reformation

I finally took the opportunity to watch the recent movie, Luther. I was impressed. Sitting with my children around we kept stopping the movie and talking about so many of incredible points in Luther's life and in the sweeping sets of ideas that were flowing in the period of time.

I was reminded, as the movie rolled, about the high cost of change. People, values, cultural attributes are all up for grabs when a new vision is presented. The upheaval in society and church that Luther's teaching presented eventually reshaped the world. However, a price was paid.

I wonder, that in small ways, if that is what holds churches (and people) for that matter back from embracing gospel more completely. Embracing the gospel would lead us to have to pay a price. Our customary ways of doing things; the way we do church (which is for many of us the one really stable thing in this world), our perspective about countless persons who have never really heard gospel (their version of Christianity is the tawdry caricatures of media), and so much more would be altered.

Why is it that we have a challenge to find a few people to watch a few children once a month for a nursery or have people upset at the prospects of changing something about the way we do things to make worship more available to the unchurched? Why do people prefer the way we have done things over striking out for some new adventure for Jesus?

The answer lies, as it did in Luther's day, with how serious do we take living Word. Is God for real? And are we willing to pay the price?