Being MEEK - Think SPACE SHUTTLE!

Core Thought: How should Christians fight the Christmas wars? Be meek!!!

Go here for a cool picture of the space shuttle's launch last week at night:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/12/061211-shuttle-photo.html

Now what does the space shuttle have to do with being meek? Well, being meek doesn't have to do with be whimpy. When Jesus said In Matthew 5:5, "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth," He didn't mean the "whimpy shall prevail!" The Greek word for meek was one used to describe force being brought under control for a purpose. It was used of breaking horses...their strength remained, but it was channeled for new purposes.

The shuttle is shot into orbit because of the meekness of its power. It's fuel could be ignited by spraying it over a flame onto a field...and the result would be a big fire! It would have no boundaries to reign in its destructive force. But in the rocket, the fuel is exploded under control, and the force is channeled through the engine nozzles in a certain way to produce the right amount of thrust. When the Challenger exploded in the mid 80's, it was because a seal failed in a rocket booster, and the exploding gas was escaping from a place other than the rocket's engine nozzle. It was no longer under the control of the engineers' design, and the result was devastation.

This is what happens when a person lives a life in which his or her potential is "exploded" in ways that are not channeled for good, in ways that go against the "Engineer's" (that would be God!) design. A person who lives life totally by his or her own uncontrolled appetites, can become..in the most extreme example, a sociopath, not able to live in society. On lesser levels, the destructive power of a life without meekness, a life in which power is not disciplined and guided into good purposes, can destroy or damage marriages, and families, and churches.

Christ is saying that a person who is guided by nothing other than their passions for pleasure, power, control, etc. with no discipline, no channeling for God's good purposes, is bound for destruction, and that only those who learn to direct and discipline their lives for good will ultimately survive, and even thrive as they discover just how "high" in orbit they can go, trusting God to direct the amazing potential He has given to every human being!