The push n shove of Washington seems bizarre. I'm interested in politics. I'm interested in our country. Many great men and women serve our nation; even from the corridors of the Capitol. The perpetual division, however, is wearisome. Each side blames the other (in general, understand) until the control powers are switched. At that point the divisions seem to remain divided; yet, each has now adapted the other's view....the once held opposing view.
I may be all wet, really, but it just seems that the political conversations of 2016 are identical to the one's now. The players seem to have swapped arguments and changed which ends from the court they were on.
It is this same blurry, confusing, irritating picture that I believe society has had of we churches for decades. Our divisive, always-the-ones-right, the-only-ones-right, ways have caused the world to go deaf to God's glorious call. I fear that we churches are seen similarly as are the political parties; only we meet in church houses to carry on the same tempo of arguing, debating, feuding, while resisting cooperation.
This is a serious matter which the Bible addresses. However, there are many only-ones-right groups planted in our cities and sprinkled along the countryside. And, here's how we get there and stay there. We perpetually promote our doctrines while lacking two essential things (which happen to be doctrinal as well): devotion to Jesus and driven with praise to God.
Being right is not a bad thing as long as such is due to the righteousness of God; not our self-performance, for He alone makes us right. But....we will most likely go ahead and hold tight to both our political views and our religious perspectives in many instances; all the while believing that if others would get their acts together, then we would all be better off.
The Apostle Paul referenced that he was least in the kingdom. The Apostle Paul never met me. I would be the least. It is from this base that we have work ahead of us. I'm interested in unity as well as are you. It would seem that the way to get restarted and renewed would be to have a fresh encounter with Jesus. If we could develop a faith to hear him/notice him in his amazing reach to the rejected and the disregarded, we might not be a people who would merely try to meet in the middle. Instead, we could rather meet at the Cross where humble gratitude replaces selfish attitude.
This, the Cross, is where all of we guilty go. It isn't wrong that we responsibly determine right from wrong. It's the call Jesus makes requesting that before we assist a neighbor with the splinter in his eye, we first remove the log of our own to see more clearly how to help him or her remove theirs. Correction is needed....for certain. It always begins with self and then makes healthy progress from there, don't you think?
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