helpful rage...

In the book Soul Survivor by Phillip Yancey, there is a story of how he found out about Robert Coles, a journalist. At the time Yancey noticed a climb in businesses that were "Christian" like journals and phone books, book stores and coffee shops but Coles was writing poignant Christian-focused articles for secular places like the New York Times and Medical Journals. Yancey was surprised by this and that kind of bothers me. It is true today though as well. I find it disconcerting when I hear the amazement that some people have for others like Robert Coles. Yes as Christians we are supposed to be set apart but does that mean that we have no connection to the secular world? NO! Christ spent everyday of His ministry with those who did not believe in Him; He walked through the cities and towns preaching and teaching knowing that some would follow and some wouldn’t. Why does it surprise us when we see an article like Coles wrote in the New York Times or see a well-known Christian actor be among his non-Christian peers? If we are not among the non-Christians everyday then how are we to witness?! Of course there is a point where we, as Christians, kind be so absorbed in the secular culture that we lose touch with our Christian brothers and sisters. Is this the reason we tend to seclude ourselves? On a totally different note but still involved with my homework, in the beginning of Chapter 3 of Prophetically (In)Correct the authors use a story of some college students discussing their motives for writing. Most of them say that Jesus motivates them but a girl named Alex says Rage. Rage at the problems with the world, hunger, war, suffering; all of this motivates her to work and gives her a muse. This gave me pause because most of the time rage is considered a negative emotion but if it is used correctly rage can be very helpful.How to work through the rage is the most difficult part, being able to take it and use it constructively instead of destructively is where Christ comes in to play. I'm still wrestling with the idea of using rage as inspiration but I think it is a better use of it than punching something.