You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6-8)
This passage causes some cultural issues. As I read it, I think…
police officers, fire fighters, soldiers, good Samaritans… there seem to be a
lot of people who risk and lose their lives for someone, even someone who isn’t
righteous. Statistics tell a different story. There are approximately
1,030,760
EMS personnel
906,037
full time police officers
94,275
part time police officers
1,400,000
active-duty military personnel
152,100
lifeguards
And
331,000 people living in the US.
This means that roughly 1% of the
people in the US who risk their lives or give their lives for others. There may
be other professions, and other people who do so, but while we think that
“everyone” or “most people” fit into this category, it’s not as crowded as we
like to think.
Another factor that needs to be
taken into account is the fact that Christianity has been influencing the
thoughts and practices of people for 2000 years. The prevalent cultures when
the Bible was written were not so influenced. As much as 40% of the population
of Italy was slaves. Life was cheap. Loved ones might matter. “We” might
matter, but “they” certainly didn’t.
Then Christianity came along, and slowly,
incompletely, things changed. Some people assume that these changes just
happened as people progressed, but the progression wasn’t out of the blue. It
still has a long way to go, but it’s one of the many things for which
Christianity should be thanked. Some of us have learned to follow His example.
Some of us would like to.
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