No Green Without Red

If you do not live a gospel that calls you to a life of sacrifice and service, you are living a shallow, selfish, shoddy substitute that promises much and demands little.

This week's texts give off both green lights and red lights: the hopeful green lights of salvation and redemption (in Hebrews) and the ominous red lights of sacrifice and service (in Mark and Isaiah). The ongoing challenge of discipleship is to acknowledge both these colors as we encounter them, not abandoning or avoiding atonement theology in our rush toward creation theology, responding appropriately to green signals and red ones.

One obvious color-coded signal emerging in society is the new sensitivity to "green issues:" ecologically minded, environmentally sensitive issues. Accelerated by Earth Day II, "Clean and Green" has become the color of some of the hottest topics for both consumers and companies.

One can see the formation of this new green movement not just in the increasing number of attempts at putting in green spaces, green ways and green belts (see the journal Green Perspectives), green taxes (California's "Big Green"), green shopping (there is now even a "Ten...