A Letter to Maladjusted Christians

Erik preached on the first of the seven letters to the churches, delivered from Jesus via John. Our Lord praises the Ephesians for refusing to get adjusted to the world of Roman imperial rule. But he follows with a rebuke, a warning, and promise. Here is part of Erik’s conclusion:

“To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life in the paradise of God.” Pointing us back to the beginning of creation is a brilliant conclusion to this sermon. The Ephesians couldn’t accept a world in which the bad guys win and evil triumphs…The danger for maladjusted Christians is wanting to be saved by God the destroyer, who will destroy everything the evil empire has put its name on, from the money to the plumbing. But by pointing us back to creation, Jesus reminds us that we are saved by God the creator. No matter how much the world around is and the people in it are marred by sin, they were created by God and loved by God. Our savior isn’t the destroyer, but the creator.”