"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."
Romans 12:2
Identity Crisis
Coming off the cusp of a pandemic, we are anxious to get back to normalcy, only to realize we can't. This past sunday was Pentecost. As many of us finally got to fellowship in person again, I prayed for the Church to be united, strengthened, in one heart and mind. Somehow rejuvenated by our time apart. And reignited by His Spirit. But Sunday morning only brought more news of division. The world is beginning to look a lot different. For the worse it seems, and maybe for good.
So as we move forward into the unknown, I've realized I need to face the possibility of some harsh realities. And I want to offer a hypothetical scenario to you as well. What if America is not meant to be great again? What if it is part of God's ultimate plan for America as we know it to cease to exist? Suppose there's nothing we can do to stop a drastic change to our society, because it's already been written. We don't know what the future holds (at least the immediate future on this earth). And we are finding out just how quickly things can change. So we must find our identity in something constant. We must place our trust and hope in something that can't change. Christ.
We all view the world through a filter of some sort. For the majority of people that would be their political alignment. I, however, am not very political. Mostly because I feel I can't find my place on either side. So, in a way, I'm just a bystander looking in on current events. And simply put, I feel sad. My heart hurts to see an unconscionable death of another human. And the outcries and riots sparked by it. I feel a little angry and jaded by the continued media propaganda, violence, and injustice on both sides. We're already weary from being quarantined, having our freedoms infringed, our fellowship revoked. And now this. The world is sick. Dying even. We need a savior. And we have one! But will we choose Him when it really counts? Most of us have been told at some point to just choose the lesser of two evils. But I think there is a third option. Choose grace.
My prayer has been for us to be in one heart and mind. But united in anger is not what I pictured. What has become clear to me, however, is people really do want to unite for a cause. We can all feel in our hearts that we are meant to be part of something bigger than ourselves. We feel a drive to come together because we are many members of one body. That's how we're created. We are also vessels, made to be filled with something. But if we're not filled with God, we will naturally seek to be filled with something else. Let's make sure it's not something else.
The headlines ring with a resounding message: people are desperate for something to believe in. Something to fight for. We want to be heard. I can relate to that. Why do you think I am writing a blog? I want to be heard. Hopefully make a difference. Maybe help someone else. That's why we all talk and stay connected and post on social media. But are we voicing the right messages and fighting for the right things? And do our actions back up what we say?
"Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ."
1 Corinthians 11:1
As Christians, in order to send the right message, our identity must be found in Christ. As we have the incredible privilege of showing the world His love. We must take this seriously and our allegiance should lie with Christ before anyone or anything else. Jesus isn't here in the flesh right now, He's in heaven sitting on His Father's throne. And that's where our citizenship is as well. We are just passing through this world. But for now, we are Christ's body still on earth, with a big job to do. To be His ambassadors and the beautiful feet who bring the good news. How are we to do this? Romans 12: 9-21 is entitled "The Mark of a True Christian", and it's sort of a mini instruction manual...
"Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord. On the contrary: 'If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
Romans 12:9-21
If you're not living and loving and responding the way these scriptures say, then you've missed it and fallen short. But, so have I. And so has everyone. Because we're not perfect. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, AND all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." Romans 3:23-24 Hallelujah! We fall short, but as we try our best, God will do the rest. His grace fills in the cracks.
Abounding Grace
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God."
Ephesians 2:8-9
Just a few days ago I was talking with my dad. We often have theological discussions. He asked me what my thoughts were on everything going on. I can't remember exactly what I said. But it got me thinking. And praying. Asking God how to respond and how to make sense of everything. And Romans 5:20 came to my mind. "...But where sin increased, grace abounded all the more..." Sin is increasing. That is evident. But the Word of God says that grace will abound even more. And we all need it. Nobody is too good for grace and nobody is too out of reach to receive it. If there is much sin, the Bible tells us the answer is not more condemnation or judgment or laws or even love and acceptance. The answer is more grace.
So what exactly is grace? It's one of those words that, as Christians, we grow up hearing our whole lives, but do we really know what it is?
Grace is good will, kindness, the free unmerited love and favor of God. Grace doesn't play favorites or pick sides. In fact, the very nature of grace is unfair. We get something we don't deserve. Paul also writes in Romans chapter five, “God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Jesus, who lived a perfect life without sin, died in our place. That is the most unfair thing I've ever heard. And even more, God doesn't wait until we have everything together to give us grace and salvation. He offers it to us when we are at our worst. Grace is love that seeks nothing in return. Grace is whispering a prayer for your enemy and taking time to listen to someone different than you. If grace is best understood in the midst of sin, suffering, and brokenness, then it really is exactly what we need right now. Because grace is freedom. Not freedom to sin. The book of Jude warns us not to "pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality." But grace does give us the freedom to come boldly before His throne, confident that our sins are forgiven, no matter how great. If God offers us grace when we don't deserve it, shouldn't we offer it to others when they don't either?
Two sides. One Savior.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."
John 3:16-17
"Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
John 4:14
When Jesus came on the scene two thousand years ago, the atmosphere was politically charged. Much like it is now. The Romans ruled with an iron thumb. The Jewish leaders ruled under them with legalism and pride. The Jews had to begrudgingly mingle with the unclean Gentiles. Jesus saw them all as lost sheep in need of a shepherd.
In John chapters 3 and 4 we see Jesus interact with two of these lost sheep, on opposite ends of the political spectrum, if you will.
In chapter three we meet Nicodemus, a conservative, law abiding pharisee. But Nicodemus was a little different from the rest of his "party." The pharisees hated Jesus. Viewed him as a disgrace to the law they held so dear and a threat to their positions of power. Nicodemus saw something special about Jesus though, and he had some questions. But to get the answers, he had to meet with Jesus alone, at night, in secret. In fear that the rest of his crew would see him with the man who befriended sinners. Nicodemus got his answers -- Jesus didn't come to the world to condemn it, but to save it.
And in chapter four, we meet the woman at the well. An "unclean" Samaritan with a history of poor choices. A woman who looked in all the wrong places to quench the thirst in her soul. She was one who was already condemned. And she knew it. She also had to meet Jesus alone. Not by choice though. But because everyone else had decided for her that she was unfit to draw water with the other, more respectable, women. She was deemed unworthy by her own people because of her choices and unclean to the Jews because of her ethnicity. She was an outcast. No one wanted her. No one except the king of heaven and earth!
Jesus took time to have conversations with both of these lost sheep. He looked past their reputations and saw them as people. Chosen, even. Saw them as more than their sins or ethnicities or whatever it was that defined them. He saw two people, different from each other in almost every way. But both in need of a savior. Both undeserving. Which fully qualified them to receive what Jesus was going to offer: grace. And Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman can now walk side by side because of Christ.
Jesus doesn't condone wrong behavior. But rather He delivers us from it. Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman each had their own set of sins and problems. But through grace, Jesus offered them (and us) something better. To Nicodemus, eternal life and a chance to be born again. And to the woman at the well, living water that would never run dry. They accepted it and so can you. Maybe you're a little like Nicodemus. You have questions you're afraid to ask. Maybe you're like the Samaritan woman, who felt sinful and unworthy and cheated by others. When we find our identity in sin, laws, behavior, race, status, or political views, we become slaves to those things. But when we find our identity in Christ, we are set free!
When Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman encountered Christ, their identity changed. They were no longer dead in their sins, but alive in Him. There was no longer a chasm of differences separating them. They had both become children of God. The same is true for us, if we know Christ. We have new identities. Will we be able to walk confidently in that identity, freely welcoming others into our family, too? We ALL need a savior. Maybe we all need to meet at the well and have a drink of living water. Maybe we would find out we're not that different from one another.
Moving Forward Together
Life is changing for all of us. Exponentially, at this point. I literally wake up every morning now, expecting to hear of dramatic life altering news. Things are different. But maybe that's okay. If God is on the throne, and we know He is, then all this is for our good somehow. We want to be lights in the darkness, don't we? So, maybe now is our chance. Our time to be bold and bright. If the quarantine was possibly a time of molding and shaping, then is all this unrest a time of testing? Will we pass? Will we be able to move past our political views and come together for Christ? Can we be brave enough to speak out against all forms of evil, even if it is unpopular with our party lines? We might lose friends. We might gain enemies. But we'll be in good company. God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5
“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved....Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it."
Matthew 10: 21-22, 34-39
Will you pray with me? Let's forgive our enemies. If we see sin increasing, let's pray that grace will abound even more. Let's be "quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry." James 1:19. It sounds small. But change has to start somewhere. One rain drop is small, isn't it? But millions of raindrops can cause a flood. A flood of God's abounding grace!
“Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
Matthew 18:19-20
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
John 14:27
