"You shall have no other gods before me." ~ Exodus 20:2 (from the Ten Commandments)
A recent Time magazine survey got the attention of many in our post-9/11 world. It said that 47% of American Muslims consider themselves Muslim first, and Americans second. Furthermore 29% considered themselves Americans first and Muslims second. This kind of survey reminded me of stories I heard about John F. Kennedy's run for the White House in 1960, when the press asked him if in a crisis he as Roman Catholic would defer to the Pope ahead of the Constitution if confronted with such a choice. Kennedy (who would go on to become America's first Roman Catholic president) answered firmly that as President, no ecclesial authority or religious creed would outrank his allegiance to the Constitution or to the country.
Regarding the two examples above, it seems that many Christians are troubled that the 47% number (nearly half!) is so high, but are relieved at the 29% statistic. Furthermore, it seems that many Americans breathed a sigh of relief when the young Senator from Massachusetts in 1960 made his statement, so much so that they elected him as president over the more experienced former vice-president, Richard Nixon. However, as I read Scripture, from the Ten Commanments to the sayings of Jesus especially, it seems that we as Christians may need to rethink our answer to the following question: Are we more Christian or more American (or whatever nationality we may be)?
It seems the prevailing sentiment among American Christians is that faith is a "private matter" that is part of our learning to be a "good citizen" of America in general and of our favorite political party in particular. It seems that Jesus would disagee, though. Time and time again, Jesus contrasts the Kingdom of God with the "kingdoms of this world." Indeed, the final straw for those seeking to kill Jesus came about when He began making distinctions between the Kingdom He came to proclaim and the kingdom that prevailed financially, politically, and militarily in his own day! He contrasts His peace with the peace that "the world gives." He remarked that His kingdom is not "of this world," which in Greek is best understood as saying that His kingdom does not derive its power or authority from the world's way of governing. And, elsewhere in the New Testament, when Jesus and Paul urge believers to "render unto Caesar what is Caesar's" and to do our best to respect the authorities placed over us, both make it clear that our ultimate allegiance is to God, and when the two (the government/nation and the ways of God) are in conflict, God's kingdom is to be the winner.
Tony Campolo, the Evangelical preacher and sociologist, once ran for Congress in Pennsylvania. He was introduced at a rally by a well-meaning friend and supporter who stated that if Campolo were elected he would "carry out the will of those who elected him without question; he will be your representative." Campolo approached the podium to thunderous applause, but quickly corrected his well-meaing friend. "My friends," he began, "I cannot completely agree with the introduction I just received. I am a person of faith, a Christian, and I will represent the people of this district on insofar as the will of the people does not contradict what I hold most dear - my faith in God." There were some stunned looks and some pockets of applause. Campolo was not elected, but he went on to become one of the most influential Evangelical ministers and leaders of the last fifty years. Sadly, it was a constituency of Christian voters that was partly responsible for Campolo not receiving enough votes to be elected.
What's the point? The point is that if we are true followers of Jesus Christ, our loyalty is to His kingdom and His ways above all else. I wonder if the survey given to Muslims were taken by we Evangelical Christians, who make a point of saying we highly value the message and meaning of Scripture, if we could even find 47% who would say, "Before anything else, I am a follower of Jesus." If so, then we would be saying with our lives and our allegiance that when our favorite political party is doing something contrary to the ways of Christ, we would rather critique it or even abandon it before we would compromise our faith in Jesus. We would say that, while we are thankful for our nation, we will not blindly worship its ways or policies when those ways contradict the ideals of God and of God's Word. We will allow lesser loyalties to bow before the Majesty of the One who is King of Kings and whose Kingdom/Nation is our heart's true home.
-- Charles W. Christian
Monday, October 11, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
What if there were such a place?
What if there were a place where we could be completely honest? What if we did not have to feel that we were traveling through most of our life's journey alone? What if we could gather in a place where people, despite our differences, had a common goal of helping and loving no matter what, so that we could encounter God's unfiltered love at its deepest and most consistent level?
Such a place would require trust. It would also require lives so transformed by God's love and mercy that there would be patience and willingness to receive all comers without harsh judgement or ridicule, while at the same time pointing toward a clear picture of a God who loved us so much that He sent His Son to die for us. It would require time: time to ease into relationships, to develop some common goals, to discover common themes of God's grace and redemption as we recognize both our differences and those things which bind us together as men and women created in the image of God.
Such an accepting, free environment would also require the presence of unconditional love, the Source of which is God Himself as experienced in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. This Trinitarian community would gather to mirror the Trinitarian God who is, according to Scripture, "rich in mercy and full of love."
In such a gathering, there would eventually be opportunities to have others speak words of real encouragement and assurance in ways that we can comprehend most clearly. There would be opportunities to be honest about our struggles and shortcomings without flinching or without fearing that these will somehow be used to harm us or shame us later on. It would be a place where the eternal "I love you" of God Himself would be so evident in the hearing, responding, correcting, creating accountability, and encouraging of others that His love would seem to drip from the very walls like honey.
The late John Lennon, co-founder of the Beattles, imagined such a place without God (in his song, "Imagine"). But, as we have seen throughout history, such a place does not exist without the kind of love and peace that only God can give. Although we in the Church have often fallen short of God's ideal community -- one that, among other characteristics includes the kind of freedom and grace described above -- God through Jesus Christ has empowered the Church to be that community! Jesus demonstrated such a community among the Twelve He called as the first disciples. They, in turn, moved by the power of the Holy Spirit, participated in similar gatherings. Still today, there are men and women, teens and children, who are seeking such a place. This cannot happen with everyone -- not even everyone who attends church or small groups. However, among Christians who are dedicated to being there for each other in such open and loving ways, there is hope for true revival to sweep our land: fresh renewal of the power of "two or three" (or a few more) gathering to seek God's face and to encourage one another toward God's best for them and for the world He has made.
Its fruit is a Christianity without masks and without walls. It remains the goal for every healthy gathering of believers.
Let us pray and seek ways to be part of the Church in such a way that the masks can eventually come off, where God's forgiveness and love flow freely, and where the Church becomes the true counter-balance to the phoniness, loneliness, permissiveness and despair of this world. Where we are gathered for these good purposes, Jesus promises He will there, too.
-- Charles W. Christian
Such a place would require trust. It would also require lives so transformed by God's love and mercy that there would be patience and willingness to receive all comers without harsh judgement or ridicule, while at the same time pointing toward a clear picture of a God who loved us so much that He sent His Son to die for us. It would require time: time to ease into relationships, to develop some common goals, to discover common themes of God's grace and redemption as we recognize both our differences and those things which bind us together as men and women created in the image of God.
Such an accepting, free environment would also require the presence of unconditional love, the Source of which is God Himself as experienced in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. This Trinitarian community would gather to mirror the Trinitarian God who is, according to Scripture, "rich in mercy and full of love."
In such a gathering, there would eventually be opportunities to have others speak words of real encouragement and assurance in ways that we can comprehend most clearly. There would be opportunities to be honest about our struggles and shortcomings without flinching or without fearing that these will somehow be used to harm us or shame us later on. It would be a place where the eternal "I love you" of God Himself would be so evident in the hearing, responding, correcting, creating accountability, and encouraging of others that His love would seem to drip from the very walls like honey.
The late John Lennon, co-founder of the Beattles, imagined such a place without God (in his song, "Imagine"). But, as we have seen throughout history, such a place does not exist without the kind of love and peace that only God can give. Although we in the Church have often fallen short of God's ideal community -- one that, among other characteristics includes the kind of freedom and grace described above -- God through Jesus Christ has empowered the Church to be that community! Jesus demonstrated such a community among the Twelve He called as the first disciples. They, in turn, moved by the power of the Holy Spirit, participated in similar gatherings. Still today, there are men and women, teens and children, who are seeking such a place. This cannot happen with everyone -- not even everyone who attends church or small groups. However, among Christians who are dedicated to being there for each other in such open and loving ways, there is hope for true revival to sweep our land: fresh renewal of the power of "two or three" (or a few more) gathering to seek God's face and to encourage one another toward God's best for them and for the world He has made.
Its fruit is a Christianity without masks and without walls. It remains the goal for every healthy gathering of believers.
Let us pray and seek ways to be part of the Church in such a way that the masks can eventually come off, where God's forgiveness and love flow freely, and where the Church becomes the true counter-balance to the phoniness, loneliness, permissiveness and despair of this world. Where we are gathered for these good purposes, Jesus promises He will there, too.
-- Charles W. Christian
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