Abortion, the death penalty, the definition of marriage, Obama's new healthcare plan, prayer in schools, and immigration are some of the most controversial topics in Christendom as related to American politics. Politics and religion is not a new struggle, although it does seem to build road blocks between us and accomplishing the important work of the church.. In fact, these struggles date back to biblical times, making some of Christ's teachings on the subject very relevant today. Even with scriptural guidance, debates often boil down to understanding where the virtues and ethics of the church belong: are they created for the world? or for The Church? or both?
Some may argue that it isn't the church's business to be involved in cleaning up or monitoring society. Rather, we are called to preach the Good News, to free the oppressed, to love and pray for our enemies, and to come together united by love worship our merciful and forgiving creator. On the other hand, some believe that it is the church's responsibility to bring the virtues of the church to the community in order to effect positive changes in our world for the sake of building the Kingdom of God. Regardless of where you stand on the issue, one thing is certain: nothing truly good can be accomplished without a growing intimate relationship with God based on trust, beginning with individuals.
In his book, When Christians Get it Wrong, Adam Hamilton discusses the idea of "majoring in the minors." What he means to address is that sometimes, as Christians, we take it upon ourselves to do the convicting work of the Holy Spirit, rather than the work of the living Body of Christ. Christ's leadership practices were rooted deeply in love and grace fed by His relationship to God, and as the living form of Christ in the world, The Church is called to do the same. When we "major in the minors", we get tied up in making sure people are following the rules, rather than leading them deeper into a trusting relationship with God to discern their identity in Christ. As any good religious people would, we become wrapped up in working hard to please God - wait that sounds like a group of people I remember of the Bible. Actually, Christ came to teach us how to trust God and all that He has done to save us - and all humanity - including those unlike ourselves...even the non-religious.
God desires to know us and to be known by us. God calls us to be authentic in Him and with one another. It has been said that your perception of yourself has a strong resemblance of your perception of God. Speaking for myself - that's scary. I am pretty hard on myself, most days. I suspect I am not alone. Isn't it true that we all often rebel against the free gifts of grace and forgiveness offered to us in Christ? We might look at the cross and say, "Surely, this is unjust. I must do something to be worthy. I must do something to please God to at least try to repay the debt that was cancelled for free. Surely all of us need to straighten up at least a little before they could accept such a gift." But actually, the most beautiful thing about the cross, about Christ Himself, is that The Immaculate comes down from the throne, takes on my humanity in order know me and to be known, to love me, and to invite me to be with Him for eternity - not on my best day - but on the worst...in the worst part of my life, in the darkest place of my soul, in my most disgusting and shameful sin. He comes to all people this way, by grace and mercy, to save us from a life of falsehood and bring us into a life of goodness, beauty, and abundance: the life God intended for us from the very beginning. Is it possible that if Christianity majoring in ideas like these, then some of polarizing issues would not be road blocks at all - instead they might serve as pathways for the transformation of the world - the very Kingdom building we seek.
I become more convinced each passing day that, "the more I know God, the more I realize what I don't know." That is, the more I abide in Christ, the closer I become to living out of my authentic self in Christ - a person made to be loved and to love others - especially others not like me. As this relationship grows between myself and God, my thoughts, values, and ethics are transformed to be more Christ-like...which is undoubtedly different from the world's understanding of right and wrong. However, I also become aware that I am not being called by God to do His job, but to do the job of His followers - to act with empathy, compassion, mercy, hospitality, and love under all circumstances without abandoning my principles, for the sake of helping people throughout the world meet Jesus. I am called to be "in the world but not of the world" - to interact, reach out, build relationship, and love others for the sake of spreading the Good News.
As we emerging young adults continue to discover ways that our peers are "turned off" by the church, I challenge us all to spend time examining the road we are traveling. Is it a road of works and pious acts meant to please God and others through good intentions? Or is it a journey of trust, where God is standing with us - our sins before us - working on them together? I challenge you to consider these words I read earlier this week in The Cure
“life
in Christ is not about what I can do to make myself worthy of His acceptance,
but about daily trusting what he has done to make me worthy of His acceptance.”
Tonight, we are discussing Science and Religion and how the two might work together. For decades, Christians have been labelled as a group opposed to science. I hope to discover in our conversations tonight how we might take polarizing issues and approach them with grace and love to unite others, both in and outside of the church, for the purpose of experiencing the deeply satisfying and abundant life of Christ-likeness.
Join us at 6:00 in the Chapel at CUMC in Danville, and if you'd like, come early for a fellowship meal in the CLC. Look forward to seeing you there.
