As Christians, we were told to pray for the election so
that our country doesn’t continue going to ‘hell in a hand basket.’ So much talk, so much prayer, so much hope
was invested into one day of punching chads and filling in bubbles.
The funny thing is nobody seemed particularly happy
afterwards. Predictably, I have
Christian friends who were very upset their party didn’t get enough power. More interesting though, my friends didn’t
agree on whether it was the donkeys or elephants who were more deserving.
Yes, I did vote. No,
I didn’t pray much about the election (gasp!).
I have little hope that the ‘right’ politician will bring about the
peace I’m looking for. Instead, I stand
with the Apostle Paul to declare that our blessed hope is the “appearing of the
glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us.”
(Titus 2:13-14)
Undoubtedly, there will be an appearing of Christ in the
last days. At that time every knee will
bow and every tongue confess. This is
orthodoxy. My question is why will every
knee bow? What would compel every living
thing to bow to Christ at His appearing?
I dismiss the idea of a sword flinging Jesus on a revenge
mission. The clearest revelation of God
is Christ on the cross. Revelation shows
us Jesus as the slain lamb. Peter was
rebuked when he flung his sword. I don’t
know what the ultimate reason why every knee will bow, but I doubt it’s because
Jesus holds a bigger nuke. Perhaps it’s
something along the lines of His beauty.
Yes, this speaks to my eschatology, but it also informs
how we should interact with society right now.
We’ve all heard it before, the word Christian means ‘little Christ.’
We all know we are supposed to imitate Christ, but do we believe doing
so has any impact? If the appearing of
Jesus is the ultimate answer to our world systems gone awry, should not the
appearing of a Christian be a small answer to the same problems? I submit that we are when we follow Jesus in
sacrificing ourselves for others. “You
say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.”
How does this work, I don’t know.
I’m working on it though.
I have some ideas. I have some
questions.
That’s what I want this blog to be about: working out how
to imitate Christ in a way that can be a small answer to what’s wrong in the
world.
I managed to jump right into both politics and religion
in my first post. I think I’m off to a
good start.
Will you join me?
I'm almost certain you just broke all the unwritten rules about NOT writing about politics and religion. Nicely done sir. At least you threw in a nice song reference to balance it all out.
ReplyDeleteI still haven't even registered to vote since moving back to Kansas.. I'm quite convinced my co-workers are convinced I must not even be Christian since I didn't vote.
Curtis,
ReplyDeleteI believe that you are on to something with "we" as believers being a small solution to the problems of this world. If you look at the end of chapter 2 in Acts, you see the early Christians not only gathering together daily to the apostles teaching but also to the breaking of bread. They also sold all of their possessions and belongings and distributed the earnings to all that had need. This is but a clear example of of "little Christs" being the solution to the needs of the people, not relying on some government program, politician, or polical party. I believe too many Christians today take a back seat on following Jesus's example in sacrificing ourselves for others, and being the solution to many of the issues today. But when our political party doesn't win or when the opposing polical party passes some major bill people get all bent out of shape and come unglued. I believe they if we as Christian come together as one body, as Paul talks about. In 1st Corinthians 12, working and using our gifts that our heavenly father has given each of us, we can be many of the small answers this world needs. Just food for thought.
I am with you brother!
Sasha, It is interesting how voting has become such a litmus test for many to view the Christian identity of their self and others. You definitely have a much bigger positive Christian influence on society around you (including the young ones in your home) through living daily life the way that you do.
ReplyDeleteMike, Great to hear from you. We need to catch up! I completely agree with your observations from Acts and 1st Corinthians. I'm still trying to figure out how we do this while engaging the culture around us in our time and place. I'll be interested to hear your feedback as we continue this discussion through future posts.