Perspectives
When I began writing for this blog, I had no thought that I would be commenting on current affairs, but it seems to me that the present situation requires this. The news has been heavily focused on the killing of an American political activist whom I, for one, have not previously even heard of. Christians have been commenting on this event on social media, reflecting conflicting perspectives. I read one contribution yesterday that was advocating for unity rather than division, which, whilst laudable, seems a little naïve – is neutrality any more righteous than having a strong opinion either way? Surely, as followers of Jesus, we need to have a biblically informed and Holy Spirit-inspired perspective – anything else is by definition partisan and of the flesh.
One of us
We can understand the inclination to feel positive about someone whom we might identify with and think of as ‘one of us’. But we should be cautious, recognising that not everyone who proclaims Jesus does so from pure motives. The apostle Paul commented on this very point in Philippians 1:18, although he is referring here to preaching out of envy and rivalry. Like Paul, we can rejoice that the gospel is preached, whatever the context. However, we must surely also recognise that if this is done alongside a divisive, partisan message, then it is also being exclusive towards anyone who does not agree with the context. The message of salvation is for everyone, irrespective of their political tribe, the colour of their skin, their religious background, citizenship, gender or the nature of their sin. The gospel is for those who have strayed from God’s best intentions for mankind, whether they appear to have strayed a little or a lot. If we are to proclaim this message to the world, then we are not permitted to be exclusive, albeit that we may be called to a specific audience.
Barriers
I am a very tall, reasonably well-educated, middle-class, white Englishman. By definition, anyone who is unlike me in one or more of these respects might struggle to receive from me, and there isn’t much to be done about that. There is one thing that I certainly can do, though, and that is to avoid adding unnecessary barriers to effective communication. If I take the gospel seriously, which I do, and if my motivation is to proclaim this boldly wherever I have opportunity, then I need to keep myself clear of any prejudicial baggage on my own part, and seek to avoid conflict with any such on the part of my audience. We will have opinions, maybe strong ones, and we will have prejudices too. But as ambassadors for the kingdom of God, we dare not let these become a distraction or an obstacle to genuinely ministering truth to every and any person. You might wonder if such considerations apply to yourself. Let me assure you that I am not an evangelist and have never been a paid minister, but alongside most Christians, I seek to spread the gospel message – if I don’t, then who will?
Disruption
We are living in a time of greater disruption than most of us have experienced before, which can be deeply disturbing. There are military aggressions that we might have thought no longer possible in our lifetime, political certainties being upended, and truth treated as an optional and disposable commodity. In the midst of this, and perhaps partly because of such uncertainty, young thinking people are turning to Christian faith – maybe something else that we hadn’t anticipated. Of course, we recognise this as a move within the spiritual dimension rather than the temporal, but it is certainly a change that we welcome. This makes it all the more important that we proclaim a pure, unadulterated message to the world, and also within the church.
Personalities
Whilst we can recognise that certain individuals have particular and valued ministries, the cult of the personality has NO place within the Kingdom of God – he does not recognise this and neither should we. We are each answerable to our heavenly Father for what we have said and done, and how we have gone about doing so. Whilst being aware of our weaknesses, we each hope that, come the day of our departure, we might be recognised as good and faithful servants of the King of kings.
However good the words people might speak, or the positions that they take, we need to look at the whole story; the messenger along with the message, asking ourselves whether or not there is consistency. This applies to anyone, whether a so-called influencer, a politician or a head of state. This also applies to faith leaders who speak the words that itching ears want to hear, rather than heeding what the Holy Spirit would have them say. God holds us all responsible for everything that we do – the things that we say or do that we shouldn’t, and the things that we fail to say or do that we should. We don’t get things right all of the time, but we can certainly set our hearts upon doing so.
The Word
Let me complete this by sharing some Bible passages that speak to what you have been reading here, starting with the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:3-10:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (NIV)
And here are Paul’s words from 2 Corinthians 10:3-5:
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (NIV)