Struggling
The struggle is real....
I’ve been struggling this past week. There are so many conflicting views and thoughts on my news-feed and I’m wrestling with reconciling them all. I love the community we’re in. When we moved here I imagined it would be a step towards ministry and knew we could impact refugees in the area, but being here for the past year and a half has been so much more than I ever imagined! The friendships I’ve made have enriched my life so much! We share each other’s joy and pain. I feel like the time here has stretched my faith and caused me to examine in different ways what it means to truly live my life as a Christian.
Welcoming the tired, the hungry, the huddled masses is not just something that is symbolic of my view of America, it goes to the very core of my beliefs as a Christian and being here I’ve been able to practice that faith in a way more richly than before. It’s not that the outreach I’d done in the past was superficial, but it truly wasn’t incorporated into my daily life.
I struggle because my values really don’t line up with either political party lines. There are things I agree and disagree with both on. This is nothing new for me, I’ve struggled with each election since the time I was old enough to vote. I’ve never strictly voted down party lines. This election has been different though. I feel like the schism between the two sides is so great and there seems to be no bridge in sight. And the thing is… there are people I love on both sides of that divide. Are such opposing views based on the same faith?
I’m struggling because I feel the need to come to the aid and defense of my refugee friends but I want to do it in a way that brings understanding, not further division. I want to love my friends so deeply that it casts out fears they may have about their future in this new country that is now their home. They cannot return to the land of their birth, but wonder if they’re welcome in this new land.
I’m torn because God’s word tells us to submit to authority… and quite frankly, I don’t want to. I’m a rule follower. I’ve never been much of the rebellious type… but I don’t like the new rules, nor do I understand them. How do I submit to authority while living out my faith? What does it look like?
I look to examples like William Wilberforce, Martin Luther King Jr., Corrie Ten Boom and wonder how Christianity will shape our current world. Christians fought to abolish slavery, but there were many who used Biblical examples to argue for slavery. Christians marched for civil rights, but there were many who believed in segregation. Christians aided Jews during the Holocaust, but there were many who turned them away. Christians… what does it mean to call yourself a Christian?
Where will you stand when controversy arises? Do you look to the Bible or to pundits on CNN or Fox news for answers to troubling questions?
But really and truly, I think it’s more than that. Where will you stand when things aren’t controversial either? What does your daily life look like? What were you doing a year ago to share the Gospel with others? How will you be sharing it a year from now? T and I left our home when there was no political turmoil. We left not because we were swayed by man on one side of the issue or the other. We left because we were drawn by God. He drew us here. He gave us a heart for the people created in His image. Because I’d already connected to my friend, I was able to be with her when she was worried about some of her family as they fled to Europe. Because I’d already connected, another friend opened up about her fears and desires.
Some of you have only been reading the blog posts since this summer. I wrote three posts after the terrorist attacks in Paris and if you haven’t read them yet, please take the time to. Here are the links:
http://hope535.blogspot.com/2015/11/part-1-church-divided.html
http://hope535.blogspot.com/2015/11/part-2-world-divided.html
http://hope535.blogspot.com/2015/11/part-3-call-to-acts.html
People knew where I stood before the attacks and I made it clear where I stood after them. I feel the same way today. We wouldn’t have uprooted our family and moved if we hadn’t believed strongly that this is where God has brought us and for such a time as this. But how am I called to act under a governing authority with whom I disagree?
Romans 13 states the following:
Romans 13 (ESV)
Submission to the Authorities
1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.
This was not written at a time when Christians were in authority. Far from it! Over the course of history, more times than not and in more places than not, Christians are not the governing majority. Around the world most Christians are living under rulers who do not share the same core beliefs. How do they respond? How should we in turn respond?
It doesn’t stop there though… the chapter continues by focusing on love.
Fulfilling the Law Through Love
8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
We like to point out some of the ways in which we walk properly… but how many of us are engaging in quarreling and jealousy. We have got to stop picking and choosing verses that fit our agendas. Have you sought God to guide you in how to fulfill the law through love?
It’s interesting that Paul claims that salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. How many of us feel that it is that belief that is our salvation? I don’t question the salvation that came when I surrendered my life to Christ. I stand firm in my faith. I have had the same feeling as Paul though. The more I am showing love to others, the more I am living out my faith, the more I am casting off darkness and shining light, the closer I feel to Christ and nearer to the sweet salvation that He gave me through his redeeming love.
I’ve been struggling this past week. There are so many conflicting views and thoughts on my news-feed and I’m wrestling with reconciling them all. I love the community we’re in. When we moved here I imagined it would be a step towards ministry and knew we could impact refugees in the area, but being here for the past year and a half has been so much more than I ever imagined! The friendships I’ve made have enriched my life so much! We share each other’s joy and pain. I feel like the time here has stretched my faith and caused me to examine in different ways what it means to truly live my life as a Christian.
Welcoming the tired, the hungry, the huddled masses is not just something that is symbolic of my view of America, it goes to the very core of my beliefs as a Christian and being here I’ve been able to practice that faith in a way more richly than before. It’s not that the outreach I’d done in the past was superficial, but it truly wasn’t incorporated into my daily life.
I struggle because my values really don’t line up with either political party lines. There are things I agree and disagree with both on. This is nothing new for me, I’ve struggled with each election since the time I was old enough to vote. I’ve never strictly voted down party lines. This election has been different though. I feel like the schism between the two sides is so great and there seems to be no bridge in sight. And the thing is… there are people I love on both sides of that divide. Are such opposing views based on the same faith?
I’m struggling because I feel the need to come to the aid and defense of my refugee friends but I want to do it in a way that brings understanding, not further division. I want to love my friends so deeply that it casts out fears they may have about their future in this new country that is now their home. They cannot return to the land of their birth, but wonder if they’re welcome in this new land.
I’m torn because God’s word tells us to submit to authority… and quite frankly, I don’t want to. I’m a rule follower. I’ve never been much of the rebellious type… but I don’t like the new rules, nor do I understand them. How do I submit to authority while living out my faith? What does it look like?
I look to examples like William Wilberforce, Martin Luther King Jr., Corrie Ten Boom and wonder how Christianity will shape our current world. Christians fought to abolish slavery, but there were many who used Biblical examples to argue for slavery. Christians marched for civil rights, but there were many who believed in segregation. Christians aided Jews during the Holocaust, but there were many who turned them away. Christians… what does it mean to call yourself a Christian?
Where will you stand when controversy arises? Do you look to the Bible or to pundits on CNN or Fox news for answers to troubling questions?
But really and truly, I think it’s more than that. Where will you stand when things aren’t controversial either? What does your daily life look like? What were you doing a year ago to share the Gospel with others? How will you be sharing it a year from now? T and I left our home when there was no political turmoil. We left not because we were swayed by man on one side of the issue or the other. We left because we were drawn by God. He drew us here. He gave us a heart for the people created in His image. Because I’d already connected to my friend, I was able to be with her when she was worried about some of her family as they fled to Europe. Because I’d already connected, another friend opened up about her fears and desires.
Some of you have only been reading the blog posts since this summer. I wrote three posts after the terrorist attacks in Paris and if you haven’t read them yet, please take the time to. Here are the links:
http://hope535.blogspot.com/2015/11/part-1-church-divided.html
http://hope535.blogspot.com/2015/11/part-2-world-divided.html
http://hope535.blogspot.com/2015/11/part-3-call-to-acts.html
People knew where I stood before the attacks and I made it clear where I stood after them. I feel the same way today. We wouldn’t have uprooted our family and moved if we hadn’t believed strongly that this is where God has brought us and for such a time as this. But how am I called to act under a governing authority with whom I disagree?
Romans 13 states the following:
Romans 13 (ESV)
Submission to the Authorities
1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.
This was not written at a time when Christians were in authority. Far from it! Over the course of history, more times than not and in more places than not, Christians are not the governing majority. Around the world most Christians are living under rulers who do not share the same core beliefs. How do they respond? How should we in turn respond?
It doesn’t stop there though… the chapter continues by focusing on love.
Fulfilling the Law Through Love
8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
We like to point out some of the ways in which we walk properly… but how many of us are engaging in quarreling and jealousy. We have got to stop picking and choosing verses that fit our agendas. Have you sought God to guide you in how to fulfill the law through love?
It’s interesting that Paul claims that salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. How many of us feel that it is that belief that is our salvation? I don’t question the salvation that came when I surrendered my life to Christ. I stand firm in my faith. I have had the same feeling as Paul though. The more I am showing love to others, the more I am living out my faith, the more I am casting off darkness and shining light, the closer I feel to Christ and nearer to the sweet salvation that He gave me through his redeeming love.
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