Ideas Shape our World

Ideas are powerful things.  They shape the world around us.  Think of the things you enjoy, the things that make life bliss.  They were all birthed from an idea.

One of my personal favorites is the remote control garage door opener.  This has got to be one of the most under-rated life changing ideas in modern history!  At some point, someone drove home in the pouring rain, sat there staring at the garage door then up at the sky and thought..."hmm if only I could open that thing remotely.."
 
In-fact all the man-made devices we interact with on a daily basis are birthed in an original idea, which is then built upon in time.  But perhaps more profoundly than the ideas birthing technology, are the ideas which give rise to the culture we live in.  If we consider political ideas for example we could take modern democracy, the idea the we the people hold the collective power, as a radical idea with much potential for a strong, accountable government.  Alternately the idea of National Socialism (ie. the NAZIs) that promised a new 1000 year empire of peace fell apart after only 12 years, ending in the death of millions in a brutal and protracted world war.

As I ponder the power of past ideas in shaping my present world I wonder who's ideas am I now embracing and how will they shape my own future ?  Who is the source of my philosophical, religious or moral viewpoints ?  Are these ideas traceable back to the Word of God, or do they lead back to another source ? Do I have the mind of Christ ?

A New Covenant

I was reading Hebrews recently and was struck again by the amazing grace we walk in as New Covenant Christians.  However, in Hebrews 10:26-31 we are warned that we can void this grace through living a lifestyle of sin, which in fact 'tramples the Son of God underfoot' and 'counts the blood of the covenant.. a common thing'.

These words are very unsettling and are cause for serious reflection.  What Christ has done for us in establishing a New Covenant is nothing short of a lifesaving miracle !  Under the Old Covenant hundreds of years of ceremonies and animal sacrifices could not free humanity from the bondage of sin, yet Christ did free us - in His once and for all sacrifice on the cross.  I am challenged to pause and reflect again on what it means to live in this New Covenant, and to not take it for granted !