Against All Odds

You know sometimes I feel like a salmon. Trying to swim against the overwhelming current, swishing my tail to make it up-stream jumping over obstacles while fighting the gushing water. Sometimes I sit back and look at the current of negativity and the repeated misquotes, inaccuracies (sometimes, out and out lies), mischaracterizations etc. Sometimes by people we don't even know and then sometimes by friends we've had for years. When the world seems totally against us and what we want to see accomplished at C3 Church then I remember I only need to look to Jesus. It feels that if people were betting on C3 Church and it's success that the odds would be totally against us. Then once again I only need to look at Jesus. The tide of public opinion was overwhelmingly against Jesus. In fact they wanted him dead. Who incited this groundswell of public opinion? The religious people of that day, the pharisees and priests, the "Godly" or religious leaders. These people conspired with the very government that was oppressing them to have Jesus wrongfully charged, tried and convicted to keep Jesus from busting up their legalistic rule over people. The only people that stood with Jesus were his mother and eleven out of the twelve closest friends that He had in the world. One of his closest friends even betrayed him to the people that would orchestrate His death.

So did Jesus have all of the odds against Him? In the evaluation of the situation by people in His day I am sure they would say Jesus had no chance of pulling out a victory. Does Jesus know what it is like for people to hate Him, say evil things about Him, lie about Him, have friends betray Him? Yes He does. Let me ask a few more questions. Is C3 Church God's church? You better believe it is. So when people are actively saying negative, derogatory things about C3 Church are they railing against God's church? Yes they are. Do I want to be identified with God and His church? Yes I do. Will God empower His church to accomplish the task He has given it? Yes He will. Did Jesus beat all the odds and turned defeat into a glorious victory? Yes He did. Did He lay down His life for His church? Yes He did. Does He love and care for us the same way today? Yes He does. Does Jesus understand everything we have lost to reach people for Him? Yes He does. Does Jesus promise that when we lay it all on the line to do His work will he make a way and help us? Yes He does. Is God the same yesterday, today and forever? Yes He is.

Now the question is, will I take God over the conventional wisdom of the masses that predict our "certain demise"? Yes I will, because Christ has done it before. Christ went against all odds and won. Even though this might sound old and trite I believe it, "God and me make a majority". I'll take God over the odds everyday. I'll swim up-stream, against the current with every last ounce of strength I have. Against all odds!