A victim treats his mugger right

I saw this story on digg.com today:

Julio Diaz has a daily routine. Every night, the 31-year-old social worker ends his hour-long subway commute to the Bronx one stop early, just so he can eat at his favorite diner.

But one night last month, as Diaz stepped off the No. 6 train and onto a nearly empty platform, his evening took an unexpected turn.

He was walking toward the stairs when a teenage boy approached and pulled out a knife.

"He wants my money, so I just gave him my wallet and told him, 'Here you go,'" Diaz says.

As the teen began to walk away, Diaz told him, "Hey, wait a minute. You forgot something. If you're going to be robbing people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm."

The would-be robber looked at his would-be victim, "like what's going on here?" Diaz says. "He asked me, 'Why are you doing this?'"

It doesn't say anywhere in the story if this man was a Christian or not, but Matthew 5:39-41 says:

"But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles."

Those of you who read this blog and are Christians, what do you think? Should we take this passage literally? What would this world be like if everyone acted as this man did?

You can read the whole story here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89164759

Happy Resurrection Day

I hope today is a day full of joy, family and friends. Let's remember the incredible victory we have over death through our Lord Jesus Christ and his resurrection. The tomb is empty, he has risen!

Good Friday, songs with questionable theology and random stuff

Tonight my church, like many is holding a Good Friday service. This past Wednesday, our student ministry spent the whole evening reflecting on the events of Jesus' last week through a worship service. It got me thinking, it's hard sometimes to come back to the cross and reflect. It's not a great feeling to be honest with yourself and admit that you're part of the problem, part of the reason why Jesus had to be brutally crucified. Sometimes worshiping in spirit and in truth is merely choosing to worship when you don't feel like it.

Speaking of worship, we did a song Wednesday that I always am a bit "ify" about: "Above All." This song has a great melody, and some spectacular lyrics about the cross...but one word seems to always throw me off. The line is "you thought of me above all." At first glance, it's a great sentimental statement - that Jesus would think of us when he was sacrificing himself on the cross. However, if we take this lyric at face value, we run into the problem of making God out to be some warm-fuzzy person who puts us at the center of his universe. This isn't scriptural. I've come to the conclusion (after reading the songwriters comments on the song), that the intention wasn't to make the lyric "me" centered, but to highlight God's tender love for us and show that if we were the only ones on earth, Jesus would have still died for us - God loves us that much, he cares about us above all creation. So yeah, it's a bit of a metaphorical stretch, but hey- if you have too many problems with it, don't sing it ;)

Finally, if you visit this blog directly (instead through a feed reader), you might have noticed I moved my "Recent Favorite Blog Posts I'm Reading" section to the top of the page. I don't post everyday, but I do share my favorite Google Reader items just about every day. So if it's new stuff to read you're looking for, it makes it easier to find on my blog. Do you like it up at the top like that, or should I move it back to the side? Or do you not care?

New Puter

Well, I took the plunge. My old desktop at home was nearing the end of it's lifespan - nearly 6 years old (that's like 70 in computer years). I built my old desktop back in 2002 at college and I decided that I'd once again build a Frankenstein creation.

So my new computer is here, and I'm getting used to *shivers* Window's Vista. So far, it hasn't been nearly as bad as I've heard about it. Aside from a few minor hiccups, it runs way better than my old XP system.

We'll see how it goes... it's not a Mac, but it's still pretty and nice. We'll see if it wow's me.

Reaching the Emerging Generation - w/ Dr. Ron Walborn

I just found this really great video through Shane's blog (thanks Shane, you're my blogging hero). It's pretty long, but worth the watch - especially if you are somehow involved with ministry to people 20-40 yrs old or would like to be more effective in your ministry to these ages.

Spring is almost here

It just snowed this morning here in Alabama which makes it hard to believe that spring is just around the corner. I can't help but think about hope as I see the buds on the trees and the flowers starting to bloom. I've had quite a rough winter and I'm looking forward to changes and new opportunities this year. Hope sure is hard to muster sometimes, like a sprout struggling to make it in the early spring.

What's your favorite part of spring? I've shared mine (hope), what's yours?