The recent shooting in Arizona reiterates in a horrific way what the Bible means when it talks about the danger of the tongue. Over and over, we see prophets, apostles, and Christ Himself emphasizing the sharpness of the tongue, the pain and evil that careless words can cause, and the evil that can result from the tongue if we are not careful.
I really believe that many people are pushed towards dangerous action because of angry words they hear. In most cases, this action doesn’t end in tragedy. But sometimes it does. And the "sometimes" scenarios are too horrendous to risk.
that is why we must, as God warns us, guard our tongues, for it is a "double-edged sword." Angry political rhetoric leads those who are easily influenced to think that the only way to solve a problem is to shoot someone who disagrees with them. And they think they are justified in doing this - our rhetoric has become so angry, so divisive, that it leads some to think killing is a [possible course of action.
When this becomes the case, we need to change how we speak. We need to watch the words that come out of our mouths, for our tongue is a weapon more powerful than we realize. We need to seriously think about and definitely change how we discourse with one another, especially on points of disagreement, or there will be many more scenes like the one in Arizona to come.
We as Christians should be leading the way in godly discourse, not joining in full force in the angry dialogue. Because we are passionate does not mean our words should contribute to the anger and violence. We should follow Christ’s example and communicate wisely and with cunning, but in gentleness and love. In disagreement, our words should not promote violence, but only speak truth. Following Christ’s example, we can speak boldly and powerfully without causing people to draw their swords (or their guns).Current events of the day challenge us to think more about what we are saying and how we are saying it, instead of carelessly joining in the debate.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Political involvement
I recently wrote an article for Capital Commentary,an awesome publication produced by the Center for Public Justice, on the importance of Christian political engagement. Check it out if you want!
http://www.capitalcommentary.org/faith-and-politics/christian-political-engagement
http://www.capitalcommentary.org/faith-and-politics/christian-political-engagement
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Faith in Christ
"Following Jesus is not meant to be some cursory assent to the question 'Do you believe in Jesus?' Following Jesus is meant to turn our lives around so that we go out and live differently in a way that draws others to the God in whom we live and move and have our being."
"Doing mission is not for the few who choose to serve in distant countries. The mission of God calls all of us to step out of our comfort zones into another way of being and another way of doing. It calls all of us to accept the challenge of Epiphany to live and serve joyfully in a way that reveals Jesus to others so that they too hunger for the One who has transformed us." (http://godspace.wordpress.com/2011/01/05/eve-of-epiphany-we-have-come-we-have-seen-now-we-must-follow/)
These words by blogger Christine Sine strike a deep chord with me right now. Our Christian culture and the American church overall have not sat right with me over the past couple years, and I am realizing more and more that this unsettled feeling comes when my growing realization of who God is and who He made His church to be are contrasted with what His church actually is. So many of us have turned "faith in Christ" into a simple, theological concept that has made answering the question of "Are you going to heaven" the goal of our belief system.
Really, though, true faith in Christ should produce a deep awe of a holy God that we can never fully understand, but who we believe in anyway because our hearts will not be satisfied without His whispers. Faith in Christ, in the living God, will make our lives different than the lives of others around us because we will live believing in the magic and holy power of a magnificent God. Truly having faith in Christ will cause us to desire a better system, to strive for a different reality, to never grow used to hearing of heartache and never cease believing that God will use us to make that heartache go away. I've realized that I grow more and more dissatisfied with the world around me as the years go on because I grow more satisfied with Him. With who He is, with His truths, with His reality. I continue to not be satisfied with how things are not because there is something wrong with my faith, but because there is something right with my faith. I feel the power of the Spirit moving through my bones and feel Him crying out through me to desire more, to seek a different kind of world - a world where He is presented daily through how we live and what we say and how we love - and He aches within me when He sees Christians all around Him growing satisfied with the way the world is now. The more I get to know Christ and His personality, His heart, His vision for the world and for His church, the more I am filled with an excitement and a burning in my soul! I become more dissatisfied with the way things are because I see more of how they could be, and I yearn to be Christ's representative and bring His fiery love into the world. I yearn to be His feet that never stop running, yearn to help show the church how much more there is to living for Christ in this world.
It is more than praying a prayer once and saying "yes" when someone asks if you’re going to heaven someday. Faith in Christ is believing in His power to truly save and redeem - it is believing and desiring to see Him change this world in ways we could never change it ourselves. Faith in Christ gives us more in this life than just waiting for the next one. There is more we are called to: faith in Christ fills us with a desire to live like He lived and change the situations around us, just like He did while on this earth. And because of the power of the Holy Spirit, faith in Christ allows us to do even greater things than He did to love, heal, and redeem the world around us (John 14:12) – so that like Christ, we may draw people to the Father. Faith in Christ is fervently praying for "His Kingdom come, His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven, " and living in such a way that it is so.
Faith in Christ should cause us to live so drastically different than the world around us, because we live with hope in a power that can change things - and we live out that hope by joining with Him to bring about that change, believing and doing and saying things that are so clearly beyond human ability or social "norms." Living differently is not just for those who feel called to mission work in other countries, or for those who feel called to be pastors or work in a church building. Living differently is not something we choose a choice because it fits our personalities or preferred lifestyles. Living differently in this world should be an outpouring of true faith in Christ, faith in a powerful God who can truly do even more than “all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us.” (Eph. 3:20) We are the ones who can live in such a way as to display His power and draw people to Him.
Do our lifestyles, our friendships, our marriages, our finances, our jobs, etc., reflect that we really believe in an awesome, holy God whose powers extend above all other principalities? Are we living in such a way that others see Him and fear Him and desire Him? The more I come to know Christ the more He urges me quietly and insistently to examine my own life and boldly follow His example, not living by the standard of the world but by the beautiful, all-satisfying standard He has given us.
"Doing mission is not for the few who choose to serve in distant countries. The mission of God calls all of us to step out of our comfort zones into another way of being and another way of doing. It calls all of us to accept the challenge of Epiphany to live and serve joyfully in a way that reveals Jesus to others so that they too hunger for the One who has transformed us." (http://godspace.wordpress.com/2011/01/05/eve-of-epiphany-we-have-come-we-have-seen-now-we-must-follow/)
These words by blogger Christine Sine strike a deep chord with me right now. Our Christian culture and the American church overall have not sat right with me over the past couple years, and I am realizing more and more that this unsettled feeling comes when my growing realization of who God is and who He made His church to be are contrasted with what His church actually is. So many of us have turned "faith in Christ" into a simple, theological concept that has made answering the question of "Are you going to heaven" the goal of our belief system.
Really, though, true faith in Christ should produce a deep awe of a holy God that we can never fully understand, but who we believe in anyway because our hearts will not be satisfied without His whispers. Faith in Christ, in the living God, will make our lives different than the lives of others around us because we will live believing in the magic and holy power of a magnificent God. Truly having faith in Christ will cause us to desire a better system, to strive for a different reality, to never grow used to hearing of heartache and never cease believing that God will use us to make that heartache go away. I've realized that I grow more and more dissatisfied with the world around me as the years go on because I grow more satisfied with Him. With who He is, with His truths, with His reality. I continue to not be satisfied with how things are not because there is something wrong with my faith, but because there is something right with my faith. I feel the power of the Spirit moving through my bones and feel Him crying out through me to desire more, to seek a different kind of world - a world where He is presented daily through how we live and what we say and how we love - and He aches within me when He sees Christians all around Him growing satisfied with the way the world is now. The more I get to know Christ and His personality, His heart, His vision for the world and for His church, the more I am filled with an excitement and a burning in my soul! I become more dissatisfied with the way things are because I see more of how they could be, and I yearn to be Christ's representative and bring His fiery love into the world. I yearn to be His feet that never stop running, yearn to help show the church how much more there is to living for Christ in this world.
It is more than praying a prayer once and saying "yes" when someone asks if you’re going to heaven someday. Faith in Christ is believing in His power to truly save and redeem - it is believing and desiring to see Him change this world in ways we could never change it ourselves. Faith in Christ gives us more in this life than just waiting for the next one. There is more we are called to: faith in Christ fills us with a desire to live like He lived and change the situations around us, just like He did while on this earth. And because of the power of the Holy Spirit, faith in Christ allows us to do even greater things than He did to love, heal, and redeem the world around us (John 14:12) – so that like Christ, we may draw people to the Father. Faith in Christ is fervently praying for "His Kingdom come, His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven, " and living in such a way that it is so.
Faith in Christ should cause us to live so drastically different than the world around us, because we live with hope in a power that can change things - and we live out that hope by joining with Him to bring about that change, believing and doing and saying things that are so clearly beyond human ability or social "norms." Living differently is not just for those who feel called to mission work in other countries, or for those who feel called to be pastors or work in a church building. Living differently is not something we choose a choice because it fits our personalities or preferred lifestyles. Living differently in this world should be an outpouring of true faith in Christ, faith in a powerful God who can truly do even more than “all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us.” (Eph. 3:20) We are the ones who can live in such a way as to display His power and draw people to Him.
Do our lifestyles, our friendships, our marriages, our finances, our jobs, etc., reflect that we really believe in an awesome, holy God whose powers extend above all other principalities? Are we living in such a way that others see Him and fear Him and desire Him? The more I come to know Christ the more He urges me quietly and insistently to examine my own life and boldly follow His example, not living by the standard of the world but by the beautiful, all-satisfying standard He has given us.
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