What Would Jesus Do?

I am not a political person.  I have never joined a political party or voted strictly along party lines.  And I am not a perfect Christian who always responds to everything in the way God would want me to.  But what I have seen on social media over the past week has struck a chord deep inside me, and I feel compelled to comment.

By all accounts, both the Syrian refugee crisis and the terrorist attacks in Paris and other cities around the world are horrendous; and the lives that have been affected by both issues will never be the same.  I have come to expect that both Republicans and Democrats would find a way to connect these unrelated events and use them for political gain and misguided American patriotism.  What I was surprised, saddened, and quite frankly ashamed to see on social media was the number of people who call themselves Christians siding with the politicians in deciding that terrorist attacks by ISIS in Paris justify closing our country’s borders to innocent refugees.  As Christians, we have a responsibility to choose wisely who or what we allow to inform our thoughts and actions; and I believe that this should never be politicians, fear, or patriotism – but God’s Word alone.  It is easy to allow others to guide what we think and do, instead of listening to God only.  The apostle Paul talked about this in Colossians 2:8: “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.”       

Here’s a few facts.  First of all, ISIS does not speak for all of Islam; and mainstream Islamic people oppose ISIS just as much as Christians do.  Mainstream Islamic people are no more of a threat to us than any other non-Biblical or extra-Biblical groups (many of whom masquerade as acceptable churches or religions in our country).  Secondly, not only are not all Syrians associated with ISIS, they aren’t even all associated with Islam.  There are many Syrian Christians who have become refugees in an attempt to save their families from horrible conditions in their country.

 We are told by the apostle Paul to have the same attitude as Jesus did (Philippians 2:5).  Jesus had much to say about how we should respond to the Syrian refugees.  In Matthew 25:31-46, he talks about what will happen at his second coming, when he will separate “the sheep from the goats” based on what we did to help “the least of these”.  The result for not attending to the needs of helpless people is not a pleasant one (verse 46).  Jesus also told us to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:36-40).  Jesus’ brother, James, elaborated on this principle and condemned playing favorites: “If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing right.  But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.” (James 2:8-9).  James also tells us that God places great value on how we take care of those around us: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27).  Do we dare decide that our own lives and those of our families (and protecting ourselves from perceived or possible danger) are more important than the lives of the Syrian refugees?

ALL people are made in the image of God and loved by God, not just Christians or Americans.  Jesus died for Syrian refugees and ISIS terrorists as much as he died for any of the rest of us.  How we must hurt God’s heart when we act superior and allow fear to rule our thoughts and actions instead of compassion and love.  After all, fear and love can’t exist together, for “perfect love drives out fear” (1 John 4:18).  When we trust God, there is no room for fear or self-protection, because we are placing our welfare in HIS hands instead of our own.

So, do we really trust God?  We have the opportunity to demonstrate whether we think like the Israelites did when facing Goliath, or whether we think like David did (1 Samuel 17).  The Israelites were ruled by fear and frozen by the possibility of Goliath’s victory; but David was ruled by his trust in God and could only see God’s imminent victory.  Can we, as Christians, be different than those around us and choose to love and care for others instead of acting from a stance of fear and self-protection?  And can we make an effort to use the power of social media to advance truth and God’s ways instead of being deceived by the enemy and his many schemes?  What would Jesus do?

Nothing New Under the Sun

In the past week, there have been several different terrorist attacks that have killed many people and injured many others.  Last weekend a friend of mine from church shared the difficult news that her daughter recently announced her intention to marry her lesbian partner.  And in our women’s Bible study at church we are studying the Old Testament stories of the patriarchs – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and others.  What do these things have in common?

“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.”                     Ecclesiates 1:9

As I study about the patriarchs and as I live life in the 21^st century, I am struck by the similarities between how both God and Satan have conducted themselves throughout the ages.  Nothing has really changed over time.  Yes, there are new outlets for the enemy to tempt us and new twists to ancient sins; but there really isn’t anything new at all.  Since the Garden of Eden, Satan has tried to appeal to the pride of humans and to undermine the sovereignty of God.  We have been and always will be tempted to take our lives into our own hands instead of trusting God’s ways.

One of the wisest men to ever live, King Solomon of Israel, understood this when he wrote the book of Ecclesiastes.  He admits to trying just about everything he can think of to find meaning apart from God – determining that pleasure, work, money, personal advancement, and even wisdom itself are all meaningless if pursued on their own.  The same scenario has occurred countless times throughout history without people coming to the same conclusion as Solomon.  Our inherent sinful nature (Romans 8:8) seems to keep us in a cycle of repetition that doesn’t always turn out well.

I won’t elaborate here, but nearly all of the patriarchs tried to take control out of God’s hands and figure things out on their own.  Their activities included lying, polygamy, incest, rape, deception, prostitution, and many other forms of disobedience to God.  This is the same basic thought process that allows terrorists to kill others and modern-day social interest groups to seek approval for their actions.  When we trust ourselves more than we trust God, the results are always the same – God is dishonored, and eventually the consequences are devastating – even if not right away.

But my study of the patriarchs has reminded me of a truth I have seen in my own walk with God: no matter what we humans do that tries to remove God from the picture, he is always faithful and continues to bless.  Yes, he expects repentance and desires people whose hearts are following him, but he can always be counted on to offer forgiveness and his continued presence in our lives when we return to him.  Solomon’s conclusion at the end of Ecclesiates sums this up neatly: “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”  

Today I know there is nothing new under the sun; but I am praying that God will continue to be faithful and that our world, our nation, our churches, our families, and each of us individually will do what we can to break the cycle and bring glory to God. 

Choosing a Thanksgiving Focus

Over the weekend we made it through another Halloween (my least favorite holiday) and are now in the month of Thanksgiving (one of my favorite holidays)!  Today I’ve been working on the last preparations for next Sunday morning’s worship session at our church’s annual women’s retreat.  When I lead worship, it is important to me to attempt to integrate the songs that are sung with the Word that will be brought by the speaker.  There is always a special sense of the Spirit’s presence when music and God’s Word are working together.

I’ve found it easy to be thankful today – because the focus of next Sunday’s session is on God’s faithfulness and his love.  While God’s interaction in our lives doesn’t always look the same, he is always faithful – no matter what we do that is unfaithful.  Faithfulness is built into God’s character, so it is not possible for him to be unfaithful.  I love the way the old hymn, Great Is Thy Faithfulness, describes it: there is no “shadow of turning” with God, and he never changes.  He has given us the seasons, sun, moon, stars, and all of nature to attest to his faithfulness.  Besides that, he has pardoned our sin and gives us peace, strength, hope, and his own presence – as well as many more blessings.  If we’re focused on his faithfulness, we can’t help but be thankful!

But God isn’t just faithful – he’s also loving: “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).  And John 15:13 tells us that there is no greater love than being willing to die for someone else.  The kind of perfect love that God has for each of us is really hard for us to grasp, because we are hopelessly caught in an imperfect world – and none of us is capable of loving the way God does.  But Romans 8:38-39 helps us to recognize that God is also faithful in the way he loves us:

“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love.  Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today not our worries about tomorrow – not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.  No power in the sky above or in the earth below – indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

As we head into this season of holidays that should be about God, let’s choose to focus on his faithfulness and love.  Even if our lives are sometimes filled with difficulties that make it hard to be thankful, we can always choose what we focus on.  Taking every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:5), I choose to focus on my God and not life’s difficulties.