The Winds of Change

Right now I'm in the Windy City - Chicago, Ill. I'm here on a business trip for the University of Maryland, but it is fascinating because this is Obama country - not that I have seen any hats, bumper stickers, or banners - it's just that Barak Obama is the Junior Senator from Illinois.

Barak is a very intelligent man - gifted by God, I'm sure. But many, many evangelical are scared that he may become the next president of the United States. Why are they scared? Primarily because he is very pro-choice and support abortion, seemingly on demand.

However, what many evangelical Christians from the United States fail to understand (or they simply forget or don't think about) is that our citizenship is in Heaven - not earth. The USA is not God's gift to humanity, Jesus Christ is that gift. Don't get me wrong - I think abortion is a terrible wrong, but the ultimate sin is some form of rejection of God. If a person dies without knowing the love and the grace of God - this is the real tragedy. God offers love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self control. Why live life without these wonderful blessings from God? Not to mention, death without God is worse than life without God.

When Christians merge their faith with their patriotism, it waters down the gospel of Jesus Christ and equates national values with divine truth. (I know this is an oversimplification - I'm sure I will write about this later) As a Christian, my faith will definitely impact how I execute my job - whether it be food service, construction, childcare, education, engineering, or public service. Therefore, what Christians should be doing - and this is what the scriptures tell us to do - is influence people on an individual bases to fall in love with and follow God with all of their heart, mind, soul, and strength. Yes, just like Timothy, in our own way, we are to preach the word of God.

You see, Jesus never said fix the culture or the society. No! Jesus asked us to reach the hearts and minds of people.

I think I would like to write a lot more on this topic. For now, I will enjoy the windy city and see where the "winds of change" will take this country. I do pray that those that call on the name of Jesus Christ would stop panicking over the things of this world. After all, how many Christians fully understand all the aspects of the Christian faith - even important things like abortion, marriage, and war are not fully understood by most Christians. I for one only have clarity on two of these issues based on biblical principles (Which two? Care to guess) and I think I can give some OK guidelines on the third.

Grace, Forgivness and Authenticity - Part 2

It's not much of a blog when you don't write that often!

Forgiveness in the body of Christ is painful, especially within the context of a church. Forgiveness is required by God, as it is written,

Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you

(Col 3:13). However, we also must maintain Authenticity. This means the consequences of our actions are real and must be taken into account. When David sinned, violence never left his house as promised by God (2 Sam 12:11-14). When leaders have a moral failure, they generally should step down. However, what about poor judgment - for example, spending too much money on a church project or not following through on a request?

As Christians, many of us easily get hurt when someone in the church lets us down or does not meet our desired expectation - they should visit me, or they should help me in this way, or they should do things in a particular way. In these cases, although the expectation may be incorrectly placed, the pain is real. Ideally, believers should not place unrealistic or unreasonable expectations on each other, however, if there is no blatant egregious sin involved, then not only forgive the person but continue in high spirits to work together as the family of God.