Rev. Jeff Wood, First Presbyterian Church of Sebastian
WeLoveFirst.org & Facebook.com/welovefirstsebastian
Free Grace, Freeing Grace
August 14, 1971 began what is now known as the Stanford Experiment. It was sponsored by the US Navy and headed up by psychologist Philip Zimbardo. It was abandoned suddenly six days later because of what happened. In a nutshell, a simulation where some students were prisoners and some were guards, things became torturous and violent. The guards became drunk on power. People like power but power corrupts.
However, some amount of power is intrinsic to what it means to be human. A toddler fascinated with walking is an illustration of this. Power to move. The biblical message is that that power is given and is good; but that our power center is limited in the first place, much to our consternation, and it has been shanghaied in the second place, that with our own cooperation. This shanghai is something involving our egos, the sin principle in the world, even the devil, if you will.
We did not dictate our existence and we cannot do the good we want or refrain from the bad we do not want. Today, and this summer, and always, we need good and freeing power. This is the endeavor and the gift of the spiritual life studying Jesus Christ. His is free grace and freeing grace. Take a step in his direction today.
Rev. Jeff Wood, 1405 Louisiana Ave, Sebastian FL 32958.
Find us online at facebook.com/welovefirstsebastian or at www.welovefirst.org. Call for further information 772-589-5656