Brouhaha

Much has been brewing in my brain for the last months concerning assaults, refugees and all sorts of reactions to the two. I know that many have written about this and that more will do so. Here are my questions and thoughts for/to myself.

Don’t conflate your faith with your politics

We have a task

Solve the problems of the world

My faith is not my politics

My politics should be informed by my faith, not the other way around. It is not my politics which should dictate how I feel about certain Biblical principles. When I hear someone say that the Bible teaches that we are to love our neighbors, love our enemies, do good for all – and my first reaction is to wonder what this person’s political slant on the topic is – then I need to beware. My allegiance is to my King, not my country, not my party, not my State and not even to my football team.

“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. ... Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Jesus    (Matthew 5:44-45, 48)

It is good that my faith impacts what I decide to do in my daily life. It is correct  that my beliefs should have an influence on what I consider to be good, valuable, moral, correct. But let it be then so: my faith impacts my politics. This is a truth – I will never find a political party that is good in every way as it should be according to my faith (if my faith is in Christ Jesus). And, I don’t really think that is what I want. Isn’t that what bothers most people about some Muslim countries? That they are a theocracy instead of a democracy?

I do live in a kingdom, but although it is here now on this earth (and should be impacting this earth as well) it is not of this world. My King is the King of kings. He is a dictator and puts up with no other trying to be monarch beside Him. I do not belong on the throne, Jesus does. And what He says is most important, above all. Could it be that I have allowed my faith, my daily life with Jesus to be dulled by my politics (whatever they are)?

Politics is an imperfect tool for what we as Christians want to accomplish. Laws and politics can only affect actions of people regressively. Jesus Christ affects the heart and changes how we think, which truly changes what we do. It is this change that we wish to see in the world. Evangelism is a precise tool, wielded by a mighty, loving King through us as His followers.

A task to keep I have...

What a beautiful song and what a truth. As a child of the King I have been given a task (and so have you). My task is not to make sure that everyone in the world votes in a democracy. My task is not to feed the world, or even to make sure that the earth continues. Of course these things are impacted by my task, as well they should be. But I have a specific task (as do you). My task is to live obediently for Jesus Christ and to be part of His body, bringing as many people as possible into the redemption of the blood of Christ.

There are worse things happening in this world than ISIS. There are worse things happening than global warming. There are worse things happening than cancer. People are dying eternally. And my Father does not want that to happen! “Well, why doesn’t He do something about it then?” He is. He came and died for us all, rose from the grave and lives now in us through His Spirit. Now He is working through us to sanctify – make holy – this world full of people. God is using me for the most important task there is: letting people know how they can be saved eternally.

And sometimes I lose sight of that task. I get sidetracked into the fear of what is happening in the world. I forget that God knows what is happening and He can use even me in these circumstances – if I will allow it. Will I allow it? At this moment God is bringing all sorts of opportunities and dropping them at my feet – I don’t even have to go looking for them. Will I keep to my task?

Solve the problems of the world

Where we live, there is a high rate of radicalization among the young muslim population (compared to other countries). People are worried about bringing more terrorists in to the country. How can we combat this radicalization, everyone asks. “Stricter immigration laws!” “More jobs!” “Integration courses!” “Acceptance and multiculturalism!”

How can I as a Christian think that any of the problems in society are going to be solved without Jesus Christ? Do I really think that I can combat corruption in the banking world by asking the banks to re-write their rules of engagement and be nicer? Do I really think that stricter rules will keep killers from finding ways to do what their evil minds think of day and night? The book of Proverbs tells me different.

Does that mean that we should not have laws or that we should and can do nothing? Not at all. But isn’t it true that if I were to focus on bringing people to Christ that those people would apply the good of Christ, the grace and righteousness that comes from the King, to their daily lives as well – in the bank, in government, in their daily lives? I truly do believe that God is mighty, able to change murderers into saviors. I have seen it happen before.

So, if we truly want to react to radicalism, we should be focusing on how we can bring Christ into this milieu. And look! God is bringing people to us! So now, shouldn’t we be looking at how we can use this opportunity to preach the Prince of Peace? Is that politically correct? Of course not! But I truly want to solve the problems of the world.

And why has it taken this to wake me up? There have been refugees before. There haven been opportunities before. Was I sleeping? Then no more. It took persecution to wake the first Christians up to their task. They fled Jerusalem as refugees. But everywhere they went they preached Jesus Christ

Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.

California Cool, part 1

Furlough stage 5

Flying in over Los Angeles, we all got that California feeling:
“Look at all those pools!”
“Did you see the ocean?”
“Okay, the 405 to the 5, or was it the 10? Traffic looks pretty good.”
We were met by David Cron with his familiar smile and welcoming heart. Then we went out to the palm trees of southern California. We were wondering what this stay would be like since we were staying with a family we had never really met before – Kerry and Marisol Jablonski and their two kids, Zoey and Tiger. But we have always been warmly welcomed by our brothers and sisters in Christ and this was no different. Isn’t it great to be part of this family!!

As we walked into the Jablonski home and through the kitchen to the back yard Sean asked, “Am I dead, cause this sure looks like heaven.” Palm trees, banana trees, a pool with waterfalls all welcomed us in. Even better, Kerry and Marisol opened their hearts as well as their home to us. We have been so blessed with the families we have stayed with at each stop – all of them truly making us feel at home while being in their home. This house and family was no different. The first evening included some time for the boys in the pool and the hot-tub, and then off for a really good nights sleep.

One of the things the church in Long Beach wanted us to be able to do while here was to relax. Naturally there were many families who wanted to see us again (and who we wanted to visit) and there were those who wanted to hear about the work, but the idea was also to get plenty of down time. Our first week was a perfect example of this. We were able to go over to the Cron’s house and eat some great home-made pizza while visiting about the work and our lives together. During the day we had plenty of time to lounge around the pool, sit in the cool pool house working on emails or go garage-saling (that sounds interesting – can you imagine a sailing a garage?).

One of the nice things about staying with the Jablonskis was that they allowed us to be part of their family whiel there. They ahd planned a wedding reception for Kerry’s brother and new bride and we were able to help set up and take part. It was a wonderful evening of family and fun (check out the hula dancers and cake pictures on the flickr site). We were so honored to be able to expereince this together with them. The boys even got to earn some extra spending money and gain some experience serving as waiters during the reception.

Which brings us to shopping. Since we were worried earlier in the trip about how many bags we could fit in the rental car, we kept purchases to a minimum – even though we usually plan on buying some things while in the States (shoes, jeans, towels are usually cheaper here). So far we had found a few things at garage sales and had crammed them into spaces in our current luggage. Butu now we could expand a bit – and we did. Sean was especially happy to find soccer shoes (football shoes) at a MUCH better price than at home, while Scott got some shorts (he had packed at the last minute and didn’t have any warm weather clothes). This would of course mean repacking with wisdom, but we were ready for that.

While here we have also spent plenty of time with the church family. Scott preached on Sunday morning and the boys headed off with the youth group Sunday afternoon and evening (check out some of those pictures as well). But we also had plenty of time swimming in the pool, visiting downtown Long Beach, getting to know the kittens in the house, and just relaxing with this church family.

Next time I will talk about the rest of the time in California (San Diego, Santa Monica, Universal studios and beautiful downtown Burbank).