It is an ongoing temptation to think of ourselves as living under a curse. The loss of a friend, an illness, an accident, a natural disaster, a war, or any failure can make us quickly think that we are no good and are being punished. This temptation to think of our lives as full of curses is even greater when all the media present us day after day with stories about human misery.
Jesus came to bless us, not to curse us. But we must choose to receive that blessing and hand it on to others. Blessings and curses are always placed in front of us. We are free to choose. God says, Choose the blessings!
Henri Nouwen, from Bread for the Journey
I think this connects with the Internet Monk's article I reposted the other day... It also connects with a tendency among some evangelical / charismatic people to give far too much credit to the enemy. Jesus Christ is Lord, and we who are saved my his death on the Cross are adopted into his family. We are not under a curse. We are not called to burn away our lives ferreting out cursed ideas, people or places. We may have to deal with these things if we walk slap into them, as Jesus did, but we do not have to look under every bush, behind every headline, in the subtext of every song, novel or painting, for lurking demons. "What is that to you?" says Jesus, "Follow me."
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