Touchdown Jesus

R. Laurence Moore's book "Touchdown Jesus: The mixing of sacred and secular in American history" is one that I return to for fodder. It is the meat and potatoes part of my reading, not the dessert. Today what struck me was his sentence about how women experienced both freedom and kept to their faith - "Living in other countries often reinforced their belief in the superior position of women who lived under Christiainity. " (p. 84)

Their experiences with worse led them to settle for the better. But there is still the best for which we should aim. Today we do the same with racism and more. We can see how much better we are than in some other places in the world and want to settle. But we should be asking the question of where should we be rather than how much better are we than those others. There are certainly times when we need to be grateful for what is, but that should not blind us to where we should be.

The Christian life, as Paul puts it, is one of training for a race. We are not satisfied with our present condition but are preparing for something in the future. We shouldn't settle for being partially trained, but look towards the completion of the training. Yes, we have come far. And we have further to go. So let us continue the path until God's realm is at hand seeking not just for what is adequate, but for the best.