By Jim DeCamp, October 3, 2019
This was written a year ago, yet may have some usefulness in the present. This is post #6 in the series America’s Tomorrow. The entire series may be found under the Politics Tab..
Instruments in God’s hand.
BLUF (Bottom Line up Front): Discussions of political differences between Christians should:
> Be bathed in the love of Christ for one another, and
> Be held with an acknowledgement of God’s sovereign plan for history.
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IN CONVERSATION WITH OTHER CHRISTIANS….
Consider these four passages (English Standard Version):
Lead with listening:
“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.” James 1:19
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Respect those in authority / Be at peace:
“We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.” 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13
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Love other believers:
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35
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Show regard for others:
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Philippians 2:3-4
OUR PLACE IN HISTORY
To glorify God in our lives.
Consider these three passages:
Grow in the Lord:
“You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” 2 Peter 3:17-8
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Serve one another:
“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 4:10-11
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Our longing:
“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” Habakkuk 2:14
WITH ALL THAT IN MIND
A blend of emotions.
I had looked forward to writing this post more than any other, yet in truth it has been the heaviest to bear. Looked forward to because the Good News is the answer to our nation’s ills; heaviest to bear because we at times dilute the Gospel and distract from the Hope of the World.
The first five posts addressed our nation and world. The next three will be more introspective: (6) relating to other believers, (7) what we think of this country, and (8) how each of us will stand in the future.
I want to “practice what I preach” here, to live out what I write about.
MEANING IN LIFE
Everyone craves it.
Remember when reality TV was all the rage? “Who’s going to get voted off the island this week?” Adventure with uncertainty riveted viewers.
I wanted to say to these fans: “If you’re looking for a challenge find something important, pour your life into it, and you will have more adventure than you imagined possible.” That’s easier said than done because we are talking about life––a come-as-you-are party––baggage and all.
This is no less true for followers of Christ for we are all sinners, though I would add:
> We have a demanding mission: “You will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8), and
> We have been given God’s Word and Spirit––all we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). God calls us to go to any lengths necessary to follow Him.
CONFLICT OUGHT NOT BE WASTED
The most important lesson on conflict I’ve learned.
How many times I couldn’t begin to say, but very often I have asked, “Lord, whatever made him say that, would You please remove it and replace it with something good from You?” I have found that when praying for someone in this way, I begin to love that person. Now, that’s not my spirit at work!
To pray for someone who has wronged you, for a political opponent, for someone at church––this is the call of the disciple. It is obedience to God’s Word in the power of the Spirit.
EVERYONE IS AT GOD’S DISPOSAL
GOD USES UNBELIEVERS
…to accomplish His perfect will.
> God exploited a tyrant (Pharaoh) to drive His people out of Egypt (Exodus 6:1).
> God harnessed a pagan king (Nebuchadnezzar) to force His people into exile (2 Kings 25), and another pagan king (Cyrus) to return them to their land (2 Chronicles 36:22-23).
> God used the decree of Caesar Augustus to direct Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem where the Savior would be born, in fulfillment of Micah’s prophecy (5:2).
GOD EMPLOYS HIS OWN FOLLOWERS
…to accomplish His perfect will.
> God’s power visited the boy, David, to fell a giant of a man (1 Samuel 17).
> God anointed the Apostle Paul to take the message of redemption in Christ to the gentiles. God said to Ananias, about Paul, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:15).
> God inspired the Apostle John to record events that would occur far into the future: “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony” (Revelation 1:1-2).
WHAT UNITES, WHAT DIVIDES, AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT
Key to understanding many disagreements.
More in the next post, but suffice it to say here that the Gospel should unite Christ’s followers, not divide them. However, in many churches people are divided by something that has been banished from church and long since buried, but which will not go away.
I refer to influences that affect believers and unbelievers, alike, every day and night. I have in mind pressures on the family budget, safety in the neighborhood, underperforming students who languish in impoverished schools and grow up in severely challenged families. My heart is heavy for conditions that demoralize whole neighborhoods through intergenerational dependency, and suck the hope out of image-bearers. (This is a very abbreviated list of woes.)
What I’m pointing to is not feelings (which may draw us together at an emotional level), nor Biblical beliefs (which can unite us at a foundational level). Rather, I speak of policies, public policies, that have consequences of the kind mentioned above.
So what to do if fellow believers support policies that perpetuate the status quo?
HEAVY LIFTING
Trusting God for the hard task.
I’m not thinking, here, about persuading another believer to my position. Instead, my question is, “How ought we relate to fellow believers who disagree on these policy matters?”
If God intends to punish our nation for persistent defiance of Him (see post #2), and if we believe those who espouse these policies are therefore contributing to our demise, how do we bridge the divide with them?
Answer: the love of Christ. The power of the resurrected Lord is greater. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, “When God calls a man, He bids him come and die.” It’s the willingness to lay it down for the sake of the Body of Christ. This, this is the pathway to peace among believers.
GOD USES ANYONE
…to fulfill His sovereign plan (and this is the hard part for me).
If America is to be punished for her wickedness, God may use anyone––including the political convictions of some Christian leaders––to pave the wave for a tyrant’s rise to power.
At the personal level, there have been seasons in my life when God used the misconduct of others to redirect my steps. God is more than able to use anyone and any behavior to advance His perfect will.
GOD’S PLAN
…in God’s way.
God uses all kinds of people to shape events for His greater glory: sometimes for our good, sometimes resulting in our hardship, sometimes transforming hard times for our blessing and for His glory.
Joseph announced to his brothers who had sold him into slavery in Egypt, “…you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good….” (Genesis 50:20a).
GOD HAS A PLAN FOR EACH OF US
Ours is to surrender.
Pray for fellow Christians with whom you cannot agree politically. Converse and seek to persuade; do not lash out. If you must separate, do so peaceably. Who knows but God may be using them to unfold His plan.
Ours is to follow hard after the God of history, Whose ways are perfect, just and upright (Deuteronomy 32:40). May it please God to use each of us as an instrument to display His glory.