Unless you got buried in a Buffalo or Boston snowstorm this winter, you’ve probably heard about the movie (groan) Fifty Shades of Grey. No, don’t worry, I haven’t read the book or watched the movie, nor do I intend to. 

Suffice it to say that this R-rated movie has taken the world by storm (and not just a winter nor’easter).  It has grossed over $500 million in less than a month.  In short, the movie glamorizes BDSM (which sadly stands for Bondage, Domination, Sadism & Masochism).

In essence, this movie is a pornographic delusion masquerading as a romance.  Even the stars, Jamie Dornan who plays rich, self-absorbed Christian Grey and Dakota Johnson who plays the start-struck Ana Steele, admitted that it was better that his deceased mother didn’t have to see the film while Johnson went a step further admitting that there is a part of her that wishes no one saw the movie. 

But why the massive attraction world-wide.  Many an article has been written dissecting just why this might be.  I’ll leave it to you to read them. 

The point I want to make is that in a world dominated by moral relativism, there are not merely fifty shades of gray when it comes to sexual morality; there are billions of shades of gray on every issue of morality and ethics but, strangely, NO black and white. Right and wrong has been reduced to every person’s preference on every issue of life at any moment in time.  Sexual exploitation and perversion can be called romance, just as evil can be called good. 

That is why the world, and every human being in it, needs ONE SHADE OF GOODNESS.  And that is precisely what God is, whether people are willing to admit it or not. 

Jesus affirmed this unequivocally when the rich man in Matthew 19 asked him, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”  Jesus’ response pointed him to the only absolute standard for good—God.  “There is only One who is good,” Jesus told him.  But this poor rich man kept wanting to go back to commandments and laws that might make him feel just a little better about himself.  Jesus kept pointing him to the Father and his need of a Savior.  

This is what we all need—a Father who is the absolute essence of goodness, not fifty or five-billion shades of almost-good.

This is what our world needs—light, not darkness masquerading as light. 

This is what our city needs—ambassadors of Christ who’s hearts have been totally won over by the divine romance of the only truly Good God in Jesus Christ. 

So next time someone tries to pass off some dark shade of gray as good for you, take the opportunity and time to point them to the Light of the World…the only absolute reference point for goodness in this world and the one to come.   

COMING ATTRACTIONS AT MOSAIC

• Theology 101—meets every week from 4:30-5:45p.m. at Second Space.  This week we’re studying the attributes of our great and amazing God, both the ones he shares with our humanity and the ones that are unique to Him. 
• Mid-week Prayer on Wednesdays—we’re continuing our hour of prayer and worship every Wednesday from 7:00-8:00 p.m. at Second Space.  Come join us this week as we focus on what it means to make our Father’s name “hallowed”.  Bring your burdens and blessings as we seek God and his heart for Mosaic and our city through this amazing encounter with Him called prayer.
• College & Young Adults on Friday—this week our generation of emerging leaders will meet for fellowship and God-focus at Arturo Morales’ apartment, 211 E. Mission, Unit 1 (parking is in the lot just west of this complex) at 7:00p.m.
• Men’s Connection Breakfast—this Saturday, March 14, from 8:00-9:30 a.m.  We’ll be fellowshipping around good food and a great topic—taking risks—as Mark Wegner leads the discussion off the video series “Surrendered and Untamed, Awaken Your Soul at the Edge of the World—A Field Guide for the Vagabond Believer."  This is for men of all ages and stages in life. 
• Changing Lives baptisms on Sunday—this Sunday, March 15, at 3:00 p.m., we’ll have the joy of hauling out the horse trough in the basement and turning it into a baptismal for half a dozen people who want to declare their allegiance to Jesus Christ.  Come and celebrate this wonderful step of discipleship by our brothers and sisters who are experiencing first hand genuinely changed lives by the power of Christ. 

Please keep our potential relocation in your prayers.  We have a few more steps to navigate before we’ll know for certain if we have a green light on the desired site down the street.  And deepest THANK YOU to all of you who are taking this faith journey with us as we seek to experience more of the heart of God in the heart of our city.

Enjoying the God of Light and Goodness,

Pastor John