Reality is reliable. We can depend on the reality of his love for us. His love for us is the rock on which the wise build their lives. Whom shall we fear? Of whom shall we be afraid? Will our almighty lover ever let us down? Will he ever disappoint?
To neutralize the the serpent’s anti-God propaganda, Jesus commandeered a cross - the instrument of our woe - and repurposed it to offer us a contradiction.
Armageddon is here and now. We are not fighting for something in the hereafter. The battle is now. Now is the time to join Jesus in the scrum at the line of scrimmage in the Valley of Tears facing off against Evil toe to toe, cheek to jowl. Christianity is not a sport for spectators. Christians partake in the fray.
The recommendation that Jesus makes to love our enemies (Matthew 5:43-48) is made for our benefit not just for the benefit of our enemies. Love is in our self-interest. Love makes sense. Rational creatures refuse to detonate when the fuse to the bomb of revenge, retaliation and retribution is lit. We reject the temptation to explode. Christians are duds. We are duds because we do not want to self-destruct. We know that we occupy a place within the radius of the blast.
