The blood washed Church for which Jesus died is not relegated to one group or another, nor is it held hostage by politics or ethnicity. It is a breathing, living testament to God’s love and grace. It serves its community where it is located and is aware of the needs and nuances of that community. However its relevance and vision must go beyond its community and reach the world for which Christ died. Today as the church moves from its introspective posture to a broader role in politics, business, media and impacting societal ills, it has the dubious and daunting task of doing so without losing its core function. Like all such organizations that cease to be intrinsically focused, it runs the risk of being totally misunderstood and misaligned.

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No where is faith more important than during a crisis like the nation experienced today, with the tragic and senseless shooting deaths of more than 30 students at Virginia Tech University.

It is very helpful to many of us who are believers; we believe that this life is not all that there is. It helps us to know that we will meet our sons and daughters again. We are taught that there is a resurrection day for all who rest in hope of the precious promise extended to us of eternal life.

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Webster’s defines yoga as “a Hindu theistic philosophy teaching the suppression of all activity of body, mind, and will in order that the self may realize its distinction from them and attain liberation.”

Many simply define it as a system of exercises for attaining bodily or mental control and well-being.

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It’s no accident that the New Testament goes deeply into Jesus’ genealogy, both his mother’s and adoptive father’s, into Israel’s aristocracy. Jesus was both in the line of David, as prophesied, and the Son of God. He said so himself, many times.

Why does it matter? Because by sending his son to live and die on earth, God the Father made the extraordinary first move toward reconciliation with us, proving that he is not indifferent to us or to our affairs. He does not sit atop a steep spiritual staircase, waiting for us to attain purity, deserve him through our performance or feats. He descended to us. His life and death for our sins is the greatest love story ever told.

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