Blessed to Be in the Buckle

There are 2 things most people, where I live, could honestly say. Number one, we are blessed-as a nation, state, and country we are blessed compared to most in the world. Number two, those who live in my community live smack dap in the buckle of the Bible belt. We have totally forgotten, missed, not realized how incredibly different this fact makes us compared to most everyone else. Unfortunaltey, I think we have taken these things so for granted, we don't allow where we live and who we are to impact us anymore. We're immune-turned off-disengaged. We've heard statistics, watched commercials about feeding starving children, heard about destruction and devastation from afar, to the point we are no longer moved. Yet, as Christians we need to be moving closer to God every day.

Right now, I could be leaving my tent, from under a blazing sun, in search for food and water to feed my starving children instead of sitting in bed, under the ceiling fan, on my Blackberry. Right now I could be shrouding my head and face getting ready to go to market while trying not to arouse the attention of any terrorist who lives in my community and is looking for any excuse to kill instead of thinking about my day in worship service and then spending the afternoon at a friend's pool. I could also live in a place where I have never heard of Jesus, or the Bible, or salvation. I could easily live in a city where we worship statues, burn incense, and wait on karma to work everything out.

I wonder how quick to say yes people are who have never heard the plan of salvation? Can you imagine the pure awe they must feel when hearing such a story for the first time? Here in the blessed buckle of the Bible belt, we have lost our awe, our fascination, the power and passion of the cross. We've heard it and heard it until we've stopped being consumed by it or overwhelmed by it. We need to truly be still and know He is God. In the stillness, we need to feel the power, awe, and overwhelming emotion of God's love for us. His love and grace save beyond our pain, hurts, disappointments.

We live in a community where we can freely proclaim His name from the street corners. Why aren't we?