Growth

The Religion of Politics

In Philip Yancey’s book What’s So Amazing About Grace? the author writes of the personal grace that should resound in the lives of Christians. Over and over again, Yancey demonstrates that grace is the only option when one recognizes that we all suffer from the same condition – sinners, who apart from Christ have no recourse for heaven.

Later in the book, Yancey turns from the personal to the global. And when I write global, I mean quite literally. The author contends that many of today’s international issues have become politically associated with the “religious right”. And that in fighting for the political positions that concern them, many have seasoned the debates not with the personal grace that they’ve experienced, but with the ungrace of differences.

This discussion did not resound with me until I was listening to a sermon by a dear family friend, Ronnie Stevens. In his sermon on John 12:30-41, Pastor Ronnie reminded me that in Christ’s day, many of His contemporaries were expecting a political leader. One of the reasons that many struggled to believe that Jesus could be the Messiah was because He did not establish a political kingdom. The expectation was that God’s Chosen One would establish an unconquerable reign on Earth and Jesus, while He lived here, did not fulfill these worldly expectations.

Today many Christians once again try to make Jesus a political leader. Now, please recognize that as I write this brief treatise there are many things that can not be fully explicated. Many issues that Christians rally against have moral consequences and are misaligned with the Christian faith. But many political issues do not. And by engaging on these debates and attempting to align them with Christian precepts, we do a disservice to both our faith and its Founder. Separately, many issues are not political and yet Christians should be on the front-line of service. Before it was the Hollywood vogue to visit Africa, scores of Christian missionaries were taking care of the sick and dying there. Not yet on the political radar screen, they did it because that’s what their Savior called them to.

During His time Christ resisted all attempts to become a political leader. In our time, let us not try to foist upon Him the same earthly aspirations.

UPDATE – After posting the above, I read the following from Henri Nouwen’s In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership. It summarizes nicely what I’ve tried to convey:

Words like ‘right-wing’, ‘reactionary’, ‘conservative,’ ‘liberal,’ and ‘left-wing’ are used to describe people’s opinions, and many discussions then seem more like political battles for power than spiritual searches for truth . . . Dealing with burning issues without being rooted in a deep personal relationship with God easily leads to divisiveness because, before we know it , our sense of self is caught up in our opinion of a subject. But when we are securely rooted in personal intimacy with the source of life, it will be possible to remain flexible without being relativistic, convinced without being rigid, willing to confront without being offensive, gentle and forgiving without being soft, and true witnesses without being manipulative (44, 45-47).

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Growth Relationships

Becoming familiar

“Everything’s wonderful until it becomes familiar”. Charles H. Spurgeon

The above quotation (Bec – notice the use of the word quotation instead of quote) is taken from a sermon by famous London preacher Charles Spurgeon*. Mentioning it as an aside, it has little to do with the main topic of the sermon which was, I believe either about our ability to trust in God’s knowledge of what is to come or encouragement to keep a steady course in the midst of trial. Either way, the quotation (there’s that word again) struck me and caused me to ponder long after the sermon ended.

I’ve long been of the belief that humanity is at its essence ungrateful. Probably the starkest example of this is modern-day America. The things that we consider commonplace – running water, three meals a day, soda to name a few – are extreme luxuries in significant parts of the world. I’m reminded of this every time I talk to my friend Juli, who, as a missionary in Kenya is faced everyday with the issues of life and death. What happened on American Idol last night is of little concerned to her or the many AIDS patients to whom she attends.

While the disparity between Americas riches and the rest of the world’s poverty is not new, what’s noteworthy to me is that despite this richness we often still long for more. Very few of us are content with the things that we have and the incessant desire to acquire is pronounced within us. While Americans may have the fewest reasons for these desires, I don’t believe the ailment is confined to us. All over the world people long for more than what they have, even if what they have is more than enough.

Which brings me to my point (About time! – some of you might say). No matter how wonderful something is at its nascent, oftentimes we lose the sense of awe as time passes. I think this is the cause of so many failed marriages. It’s not that the person isn’t as wonderful as they first were, it’s that their magnificence is less appreciated by the other. And when appreciation dies, love is often the second victim. That is why a heartfelt e-mail, a special gift, or an act of service can lose its appeal. After it becomes familiar, maybe even expected, our appreciation for it often dwindles, and we begin looking for something to replace it.

While this may be detrimental in our human relationships, its perilous in our relationship with God. As the one Person who is always with us, Christ is the most susceptible to seeming commonplace. Especially for those of us who have been Christians since youth, the marvel of our salvation may lose its awesomeness in the consistent retelling of the story. And unlike an angry spouse, Christ will not vie for our attention or our gratitude. Instead, in subtle ways through the wonder of His creation, the laughter of a baby, or the spark of human kindness, He beckons us to recognize His unprecedented goodness. If we refuse to hear His call, He will not convey angry invectives of the injustice. Instead, like the Father of the Prodigal Son, He will wait for us to recognize the goodness that He provides and return home.

Because the goodness of the Father is the essence of Who He is (after all God literally is love), it has a tendency to become familiar. But in its familiarity, let us not forget, it is anything but commonplace.

*I apologize for the lack of a direct reference. I need to get better about scribbling the source down when something captures my attention. After all, I want to be a responsible little blogger.

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