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Dying For...

                 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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