Politics, Schmolitics

“The anything-goes passiveness of the religious and political Left is matched by the preachy moralism of the religious and political Right. The person who uncritically embraces any party line is guilty of an idolatrous surrender of her core identity as Abba’s Child. Neither liberal fairy dust nor conservative hardball addresses our ragged human dignity” (Brennan Manning, Abba’s Child: The Cry of the Heart for Intimate Belonging).

“All religious and political systems, Right and Left alike, are the work of human beings.  Abba’s children will not sell their birthright for any mess of pottage, conservative or liberal.  They hold fast to their freedom in Christ to live the gospel-uncontaminated by cultural junk, political wreckage, and the complex hypocrisies of a bullying religion” (Brennan Manning).

Yep. That sums it up.

I normally don’t post anything political on any of my social media sites because anything that smacks of politics tends to generate reactions rather than well-thought-out responses. These days most people seem to fall into one of two camps– either those who blindly support the current President and think he’s nearly divine or those who hate him and everything he does and have labeled him as the Anti-Christ. At least that’s the way it seems to me.

It was the same 8 years ago with the last President. For some he could do no wrong. For others, he could do nothing write.

I love the song that says that my hope isn’t in a flag or a President or a country, but in a King and a Kingdom. That’s where my ultimate allegiance lies. That’s where my ONLY allegiance lies.

True, the Bible does say to respect, honor, and obey those in power, but that service is done as to God Himself.

So yeah, I take all these comments I see on Facebook and Twitter with a grain of salt. A very, very large grain of salt. Ultimately, my future hope isn’t in this President or the next. It isn’t in a political party. It’s in the Jesus who was Lord before George Washington took office and will be Lord after the last President leaves office.

That’s my soapbox blog for the year, people.

A Church Without Walls (Part 2)

I see a church where we will not be afraid to stand up and declare that Jesus is Lord, that there is no other God but Yahweh, and that there is no other way to heaven but through Jesus Christ. I see a church who instead of condemning sinners, will cry out to God and repent of our lack of love and take the blame for what is wrong with our culture. I see a church who will not just give out of her excess, but will sacrifice to meet the needs of those hurting and needy. I see a church where our worship costs us something and we like David proclaim, “I will not sacrifice to the Lord that which cost me nothing.”

I see a church where it is not about being right, but about giving up your rights. Where we will turn the other cheek, walk the extra mile and keep our word even when it hurts. I see a church who tries to match their lifestyle with what they profess with their lips. I see a church where we stop pretending to be perfect people who have it all together and are so much better than everyone else. Where we admit to being broken and helpless without Jesus and to admitting that the only difference between us and the worst sinner is the grace of God at work in us.

I see a church who is not selling out to a political party or a form of government or a way of life, but who are citizens of a kingdom where the King is Jesus. Where not political might, but the power of prayer and fasting will bring about lasting change.

I see that church and as much as I want that, I have to be the first one to change. Better yet, I need to seek after a transformed heart, God’s own heart, inside me.

As always, I believe. Help my unbelief.