Stan Moody:
I’ve been poking fun at my politically-conservative Christian friends on Facebook lately regarding their simplistic political instincts. One tireless trope appears to derive from the discomfort of having to pay more for gasoline, mortgages, and hamburgers. I came to the conclusion that there is no response to this handwringing but prayer, and, of course, good wishes. Here is the prayer I offered on behalf of these folks laboring under the discomfort of change:
“Dear Lord, please defeat those liberals in November! On their watch, the price of gasoline has gone up $1.50 per gallon. I am in danger of having to exercise restraint in jumping into my 4x4 every time I feel the need to amuse myself! And about MacDonalds - they have doubled the price of hamburgers! Please kick those liberals out of office so we can return our nation to the good old days of watching the less fortunate among us scraping and scratching for survival.
“And, Lord, please say "Hello" to Jesus for us if you happen to run into Him! Thank you!"
Reality Check – Gotta Roll with the Punches:
I’ve seen these economic cycles come and go numerous times. Thinking I might be able to interject some wisdom, I had run for and won a seat in the Maine State House of Representatives in 2002 by a single vote over a popular 3-term Democrat. Unfortunately, I seemed to be on the “wrong” side of a number of social justice issues, including support for equal rights and the sole Republican vote in favor of a non-binding resolution to ask the President of the US to pursue all means of diplomacy before going into Iraq,
I decided at the end of 2004 to try the other side of the legislative aisle. That later resulted in my comment in a Democrat caucus fight over minimum wage, “I was a lousy Republican and am an even worse Democrat, but I am a small business owner who represents a district of small business owners, some of whom live over their stores, as did I in an earlier time.” So, you see, I can identify with partisan finger-pointing. And yet, here we are randomly cycling into and out of the unknown despite our best efforts.
Where is God When You Need Him?
What is a professing Christian to do? God seems to be on vacation! Jesus, apparently, has abandoned His Lordship over the poor, the troubled, and the thrown-away in the mad scramble to merge with my former political party! Described as “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Rev 19:16), we can’t seem to find Him even in our evangelical conclaves, leaving us to the discomfort of looking for Him “outside the camp” (Heb 13:13), a place we middle-class suburbanites would prefer not to go.
There was a time when the least you could say about Jesus was that He was on a throne in the ether somewhere waiting for further instructions before diving in. The evangelical community has become committed to the thesis that those instructions won’t be coming until we get the planet ready, meaning morally righteous, I suppose. God, apparently having relinquished sovereign control over His Creation, is waiting for us evangelicals, who seem barely able theologically to scratch ourselves, to 'take dominion'. Politically, spiritually, economically, and practically, for God to relinquish control by handing over redemptive history to such folks as us might fall under, 'Rapture for Dummies'!
Return to the Gospel of the Present, Dynamic, Triumphant Kingdom of God:
I stumbled across a familiar Scripture passage this past week that gave me some comfort and hope that if you were to ask God which political side He is on in America – Republican or Democrat, He would say, “Neither! I’ve been running this show since Noah was treading water! Which side are YOU on?” Let’s turn to what is really going on!
…I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining. The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now.
The “new commandment “is to live in the love of God as revealed through the person and work of Jesus, the true Light. The darkness is passing away! The Light is shining! The minute you take the position that things are worse than ever before and we have to “lock up” the political perpetrators, you have lost sight of the Light and are caught up in the darkness. The darkness offers license for hating your brother.
The Kingdom of God is present! The Kingdom of God is dynamic (continuously moving forward)! The Kingdom of God is triumphant over the nations! If you can see it, screw up the courage to enter it, stop worrying about the price of gas or hamburgers, and trust God for your needs (Matt 6:33)! If you can’t see it, you have come to love darkness rather than Light. May God have mercy on your civil religion rising in the opinion polls, perhaps, but destined for the dung heap of redemptive history as 180 deg out of sync with God!
We are invited to be OF the Kingdom while living IN the world rather than in reverse. Instead, we find it more comfortable to be IN the Kingdom while being people OF the world. As such, we can dispense with waiting on God, as we can get what we want pretty much when we want it and relegate God to emergencies! Keep Jesus and the Kingdom in the ether, and the demands of the Gospel, as delineated in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5-7), become mere suggestions.
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