This morning my spiritual mentor and I were chatting. I was pontificating (like I do...and like you don't have to be a pontiff to do) on a few things and that's when she dropped Matthew 7:22 and further on me. The separation of the sheep and the goats is what it gets expanded out to elsewhere.
The context of our original conversation isn't important but suffice to say that we were talking about the parts of the Bible that Christians tend to want to ignore. Like...Sin. We have to be honest and say that American Christianity overall hates sin and not in the way God hates sin. What I mean to say is that we hate talking about it, preaching about it, admitting it exists, and especially hate admitting that it even exists within our selves. But, what is the power of the Gospel at all if we don't fully recognize that we are a fallen creature who has done this to themselves, continues to do it to themselves, and justifies it almost as much as we poo poo it in our own circles. "You disrespected your spouse? Oh, honey/dude everybody does that. It's no big deal. Heck, I did it four times on my way over here. Now, if you cheated that would be totally different." Uh...actually it's not except by our own fallen creature standards. But if I continue down this route I'll be putting the miter back on my cabeza and get all pontiff on a subject I've already established it's not crucial for the sake of this post to illuminate. #MaybeTooLate
I'm going to come right out and say what I may have already stated in previous episodes... Matthew 7:22 and following scares me. It scares me right out of a dead sleep some nights. Why? Because it's Jesus talking. It being Jesus talking mean's it's GOD talking and what GOD is saying we have zero right or ability to worm our way around. It's foundational which means it's been true since the foundation of the world, in a land before time (not a kid's movie reference, thank you) whether we want to admit it or not.
There are a lot of things that can and have been said about what the sheep and the goat separation, mostly regarding what it "doesn't" mean. Often focusing on what it "doesn't" mean leads us to not pay attention to what it "does" say (Thank You, Alistair Begg) and that is a road that leads to ruin.
So, as I believe the LORD tells me from time to time, buckle up, buttercup. This is going to get rough. You're not going to like it. I don't even like it. But most things that heal us are not likeable...potent medicine, resetting bones, the application of tourniquets, cancer surgery...none of these are holiday options. So, lets take this line by line instead of scanning through.
"Many will say to me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?'" vs 22
Now here's the thing that pushed this blog post. It's a little thing. It's that first word. It's one of the scariest words in the whole of the scriptures because of its context.
Many.
It brings me absolutely not comfort and it shouldn't bring you any comfort either. Jesus isn't saying that a few, some, a goodly amount, but MANY are going to say to Him on the day of judgement, "but...but...but...we did stuff!"
These are people who clearly recognize Jesus as "Lord" and have dedicated themselves in some way to Him and His service. Barney down on the beach doesn't just prophesy for Jesus in between whiling his time away praying to Buddha and meditating on the Sutras. These "many" are for the home team. These are people swinging and fielding for Jesus, progressing to the point where they are actually prophesying, actually doing miracles, driving out DEMONS in His name, with His authority and His power. They call Him the Lord of their lives. Given this resume is it a huge leap to believe that they may have written books, taught Bible studies, headed up churches? Preached in arenas?
This is heavy. The very definition of heavy. These individuals believe they are Christians, believe they are saved, believe they are on His good side. They expected to be greeted with open arms and told, "Well done, good and faithful servant" or they wouldn't be protesting, they wouldn't be pleading their case before the judge of the living and the dead, the righteous and the wicked.
The message is compacted in the way only Jesus could, "Hey...this could be you. Look out. Don't make excuses. Don't tell me what I'm not saying. This is the deal. Guard your heart. Know your motivations. Make sure what is meant to be first is first in your life, and don't screw around with matters of your soul." We see this in His response.
"I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!" v23 b
I. Never. Knew you.
That's some cold words from someone everyone sees as loving, forgiving, and all embracing. That condemns them to Hell and that doesn't even come close to the depiction of Jesus as just a "good teacher" that the World and some in the Church want to think of Him as. There's going to come a time when He is going to tell people that the miracles they performed, the demons they drove out, and the prophesies they spoke count for nothing.
Do you know Him? Seriously, there is a vast difference between knowing about someone and knowing someone. I could read about Winston Churchill, I can read his own words, but I could never say that I know him only that I know about him. I can feel like I know him, to be sure, but that's not the same as knowing him. Interestingly the Greek word for "know" here (ginosko) is the same Greek word used for the Jewish idiom for "knowing" someone...sex. The suggestion is a deep deep intimacy with Him. "I never knew you" isn't him saying they didn't show up to church or pray. It's not a casual acquaintance "know" and in my life that's the level I used to be at with Him.
My encouragement, meager as it may be, is this: Don't take this lightly. And by "this" I mean knowing Him. We can do all the great and mighty works of God and still not know Him. I venture to say that we can even feed the poor, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and it still wouldn't count if we did not deeply intimately know Him.
Knowing you and being known by you is very high on God's list of things He wants. There are many out there who say that you can't experience God and my response is now and always, "Then WHY does He tell us to?" "Taste and See", "If I answer the door I will come in to him and sup with him", and I could go on and on. Knowing about Him isn't enough, and He says it right there in Matthew. Stop being consumed by the distractions of the world though they call to you, though you are addicted to them, though they make you so blissfully happy (and you already know which ones I'm talking about) because they are distracting you from REAL LIFE. And by REAL LIFE I mean HIM, because He says "I am the way, the truth and the life". He's not just A way or A truth. We say that all the time leaving off there and betraying our hearts. He is not A life. He is THE life. He is by His very own definition REAL LIFE. And that's heavy because I didn't realize that until right now so I'm going to pause, close the Facebook window in the background and let that sink in.
.
.
.
Wow. I've still not fully absorbed that.
It's a massive alteration which takes time. Though I'm sure my beloved Pastor is thinking, "BOOM! Yes! Got one!" because he's been trying to teach that to his congregation for YEARS and I thought I had it before, but now my vision cracked just a little bit and all that light is pouring through causing a kind of spiritual pupil constriction making me shield my spirit peepers and utter a full on Neo from the Matrix, "Woah..." It'll be a while before I can utter, "I know Kung Fu..." on this one to which I'm sure my mentor will pull the Morpheus response of a skeptical appraising look followed by the line, "Show me."
The point, in so much as I can full articulate one, is to stop your distractions. Focus on what connects to Him. He says that this very act has eternal consequences. We nod our heads along when someone quotes "...and there is no life apart from Him..." then get in our SUVs, turn on the game of the week, while playing games on our phones sitting next to our loved ones who are doing the same, and we say "Where's God?" Clear the field. Seek Him and you will find Him. How do I know? No other reason than because He says so and He is not a man that He should lie.
Pax,
Will
Showing posts with label Kingdom of Heaven. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kingdom of Heaven. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 5, 2017
Friday, September 16, 2016
My Struggle (On Political Rebellion)
Today I posted something on Facebook to help me deal with the part of scripture that I struggle with the most, Romans 13:1-7.
There are a LOT of scriptures that are difficult for me; things that call me towards Christ likeness yet cause my flesh to throw temper tantrums. There are things that I recognize as true about the world that I don't want to be true. And then there's Romans 13:1-7.
Deep in my heart there is a wall I've drawn around my principles and values. Many of them are immovable as a result. I will not budge on X, Y, or Z because I know these things to be true and if I violate them then I violate my soul. There's a traitor in their midst. I recognize the sovereignty of God and His scripture, his very words to us. And so I have troubles.
Here it is:
Romans 13:1-5
Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgement on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from the fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God's servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of punishment but also as a matter of conscience.
(6 and 7 are on taxes and what is owed people)
What does this mean to those under a cruel and oppressive government? At what point are we, as Christians, allowed or permitted to rebel...violently?
The more I read of the Bible, the more I think that the Amish and Quakers may have the right of it. In the face of abuse, intolerance, oppression, war, you do the good works that God has told you to do. You do not respond with rebellion. You give honor, respect, and anything asked of you even to a tyrant.
It grates against me. I don't like it. Even now as I write this there is rebellion in my heart to the concept. It hurts, but I know that feeling for what it is. It's a dark root that I have yet to pull out.
Look, I'm not telling you what to believe. I don't necessarily have any answers. I just coined on Facebook a saying I'm sure to repeat til my dying day. "I don't have answers unless it's to questions regarding the random trivia in my head. Other than that I have questions. Lots of questions." I would love for someone to come along and tell me why I'm wrong on this.
As I look at the scriptures, however, I don't see a single place (yet) that endorses rebellion against any form of government, tyrannical or not. I think of the Old Testament where the Children of Israel are in bondage to Egypt. I'm sure there were bloody uprisings every now and then because...well...they were humans. Was a bloody uprising what freed them? No. It was in God's timing and God's way. We've got the Medes, the Persians, the Babylonians who all come and dominate Israel. God even has a prophet who tells the people, "Just accept it! This is God's judgement!". Were their bloody uprisings? I'm sure there were..because...humans. But, again, was that that what freed them? Never. It was in God's timing and God's way.
My mind naturally turns next to the Revolutionary War and, given Romans 13:1-7, were the revolutionaries right in overthrowing the British empire? By God's standard, available for all to read, was it right? The British King was in authority and they rebelled against that authority. They rebelled against the authority God had established, because God establishes all authorities. And I recognize that I'm taking the tack of many Loyalists at the time who felt that it was exactly that. I value our American heritage and history more than most people realize. Franklin, Jefferson, Washington, Henry, Hancock, Adams, so many of them are basically protestant versions of saints in my head, but I have to question this. Are we better off? Sure. However, were we right biblically?
Jesus never preached rebellion and the Romans were significant oppressors at the time. Within 20 years after his death, if I remember correctly, they destroyed the temple. Constantly we are told to just do good, help the weak, the poor, the stranger, and the widow but never called to take up the sword. Turn the other cheek, walk the extra mile, give a man who demands your cloak your outer garment as well, do as the Samaritan; all of these are references to doing good to an oppressor. We are called to pray for and bless those in authority. The Bible instructs us, if we are slaves, to not try to escape but work all the more diligently for our master as we would the Lord himself.
I'm conflicted and need opinions on this, especially those which are grounded in scripture. It's easy to get off on "Well, surely God doesn't expect us to submit to THIS" and not deal with the call to submission itself.
I'm teachable. I'm willing to hear even that which disagrees with me, in fact I welcome it.
Pax,
W
There are a LOT of scriptures that are difficult for me; things that call me towards Christ likeness yet cause my flesh to throw temper tantrums. There are things that I recognize as true about the world that I don't want to be true. And then there's Romans 13:1-7.
Deep in my heart there is a wall I've drawn around my principles and values. Many of them are immovable as a result. I will not budge on X, Y, or Z because I know these things to be true and if I violate them then I violate my soul. There's a traitor in their midst. I recognize the sovereignty of God and His scripture, his very words to us. And so I have troubles.
Here it is:
Romans 13:1-5
Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgement on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from the fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God's servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of punishment but also as a matter of conscience.
(6 and 7 are on taxes and what is owed people)
What does this mean to those under a cruel and oppressive government? At what point are we, as Christians, allowed or permitted to rebel...violently?
The more I read of the Bible, the more I think that the Amish and Quakers may have the right of it. In the face of abuse, intolerance, oppression, war, you do the good works that God has told you to do. You do not respond with rebellion. You give honor, respect, and anything asked of you even to a tyrant.
It grates against me. I don't like it. Even now as I write this there is rebellion in my heart to the concept. It hurts, but I know that feeling for what it is. It's a dark root that I have yet to pull out.
Look, I'm not telling you what to believe. I don't necessarily have any answers. I just coined on Facebook a saying I'm sure to repeat til my dying day. "I don't have answers unless it's to questions regarding the random trivia in my head. Other than that I have questions. Lots of questions." I would love for someone to come along and tell me why I'm wrong on this.
As I look at the scriptures, however, I don't see a single place (yet) that endorses rebellion against any form of government, tyrannical or not. I think of the Old Testament where the Children of Israel are in bondage to Egypt. I'm sure there were bloody uprisings every now and then because...well...they were humans. Was a bloody uprising what freed them? No. It was in God's timing and God's way. We've got the Medes, the Persians, the Babylonians who all come and dominate Israel. God even has a prophet who tells the people, "Just accept it! This is God's judgement!". Were their bloody uprisings? I'm sure there were..because...humans. But, again, was that that what freed them? Never. It was in God's timing and God's way.
My mind naturally turns next to the Revolutionary War and, given Romans 13:1-7, were the revolutionaries right in overthrowing the British empire? By God's standard, available for all to read, was it right? The British King was in authority and they rebelled against that authority. They rebelled against the authority God had established, because God establishes all authorities. And I recognize that I'm taking the tack of many Loyalists at the time who felt that it was exactly that. I value our American heritage and history more than most people realize. Franklin, Jefferson, Washington, Henry, Hancock, Adams, so many of them are basically protestant versions of saints in my head, but I have to question this. Are we better off? Sure. However, were we right biblically?
Jesus never preached rebellion and the Romans were significant oppressors at the time. Within 20 years after his death, if I remember correctly, they destroyed the temple. Constantly we are told to just do good, help the weak, the poor, the stranger, and the widow but never called to take up the sword. Turn the other cheek, walk the extra mile, give a man who demands your cloak your outer garment as well, do as the Samaritan; all of these are references to doing good to an oppressor. We are called to pray for and bless those in authority. The Bible instructs us, if we are slaves, to not try to escape but work all the more diligently for our master as we would the Lord himself.
I'm conflicted and need opinions on this, especially those which are grounded in scripture. It's easy to get off on "Well, surely God doesn't expect us to submit to THIS" and not deal with the call to submission itself.
I'm teachable. I'm willing to hear even that which disagrees with me, in fact I welcome it.
Pax,
W
Sunday, May 24, 2015
First Principles: The Sanctity of Life
This principle is often where I find myself clashing with my brothers and sisters. Taken at face value, the sanctity of life seems like something all Christians should be completely on board with. As with many things, it is in degrees of application. As a bit of a disclaimer before I start, this is not in anyway meant to be a criticism of those who believe differently. I mean no ill will to anyone who approaches any of these First Principles in a different way, in fact perhaps I could stand to learn from them. This is, however, a place where I agree to disagree. As is often the case, there are those for whom this is a logical argument and those for whom it is an emotional argument. I tend towards the logical side.
What is life?
According to the Oxford English Dictionary (my favorite of all dictionaries) it is: "The condition or attribute of being alive; animate existence. Opposed to death or inanimate existence."
Given this definition the major requirement is to be animate. I would extend that to saying self animate. To me, the moment of conception qualifies. After that moment the cells begin to divide on their own. From that very moment that life, self animation, begins life is precious. To me, all human life is sacred. Where I differ with many is that life in the womb isn't the only human life that is sacred or needs to be protected. It is all life that is sacred. The reason we fixate on life in the womb is because that is the life that is under attack at the moment, and it is life that cannot defend itself in any way.
How far do we take the sanctity of life then?
Because of my belief in the sanctity of life I am against the death penalty and most, if not all, war.
The death penalty is a much easier thing for me to explain than war, however they both share the same basic principal in my head; the moment you kill a man you've eliminated God's ability to deal with that man.
When a crime is egregious enough in this country we apply the death penalty as a means of deterrence. It's a very Old Testament ideal. If you murder then we kill you to serve as an example to others and satisfy the desire for vengeance/justice in the hearts of those left behind. It is very integral to our system of justice. If you commit the crime you must pay, and generally if you take a life you pay with your life.
I've never been able to square this with anything I find in the teachings of the New Testament. We are called to be merciful, loving, forgiving, to cast all our cares and anxiety on the LORD and, above all, be concerned with eternal matters specifically bringing everyone to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. So...at what point does capital punishment satisfy any of these things?
In my perception the only thing capital punishment does is satisfy the desires of our flesh. If someone, God forbid, was to murder one of my children or my spouse the emotions that would spring up within me would not be remotely holy. My response, my desires, would be of a purely animal nature. My desire would be to crush the life out of the perpetrator. Would those desires be wrong? If I believe that all human life is sacred, yes, it would be wrong. When Jesus calls us to forgive, or indeed when he calls us to anything higher in the scriptures, he is calling us to defy our animal and/or sin nature programming.
What Jesus calls us to is exactly what happened when a gunman shot up a school full of Amish children years ago. The Amish community took the time to make sure who was dead or alive, and then immediately went to the family of the gunman. They mourned together with that family, told them they forgave their son, insisted on taking care of them, and begged them not to move away because of that event. Had the gunman not taken his own life, with that heart on display, I'm not sure that the Amish community would have even pressed charges. They likely may have forgiven him and let the state do what it will and, again, taken care of the man's family. THAT preaches volumes to my heart on many levels.
This isn't as simple as those who hold up signs that say, "Why do we kill people in order to show people that killing people is wrong?". In the words of King's X, "I have trouble with the persons with the signs/ But sometimes I feel the need to make my own". If all human life is sacred then is a convict's life sacred? Or are we going to pick and choose whose lives are more or less sacred? A fellow Christian was discussing this issue with me and he remarked, "Yeah, Will, but how much do we spend each year to keep them alive? It's cheaper to give them a lethal injection than to give them Life without the possibility of parole." I was too stunned to even respond to that line of thinking. Once that heart stops beating we have removed any shot at someone influencing their life for Christ. There's no chance for God to work in them once we do that. To that I've heard responses such as, "Well, if God really wants to save them He'll get it done before the execution." How cheaply we regard life and capriciously we treat God's work.
If all human life is sacred then why do we support war?
This is where I'm the most shaky on this First Principle. By our mere existence we reap the benefits of those who have died in wars since the dawn of time. When I question how a Christian should feel about war the Revolutionary war gets thrown in my face about as much as the wars in the Old Testament. I wouldn't have the freedoms guaranteed (although lately I feel like I should put quotation marks around that word) in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights if we had not gone to war. Sadly, those arguments place the benefits we have as more important over what the words of Jesus actually are. How do we wage war when we are to love our enemies? Where do we find the justification to take another man's life when He specifically tells us not to stand in the way of a wicked man, but rather we are to turn the other cheek when beaten on one?
I do not look down on those who have served or think that military service is a sin or anything. I would never want a military person or someone in the police force to think for a second that I am not grateful for what they do. If the United States of America didn't get involved in World War II the slaughter would have continued. I am merely saying that if all human life is sacred then what do we do with that? I can't look at the scriptures and honestly say that it permits me to take a life...even in defense of my own person.
Now, in both of these concepts, capital punishment and war, I recognize their justifiable validity. The world would not work "properly" without them. The world outside the Church needs them. God calls His people to crazy things. As I've mentioned above he calls us to love our enemies. This isn't someone you have a disagreement with. He literally calls us to love those who despise us, ridicule us, and cause us physical harm (See St. Stephen and other disciples). He doesn't call us to be polite. He calls us to radical upside-down thinking on every level. Jesus in our lives calls us to defy every programming that the world has done to us.
My brethren have asked, "Well, what are you going to do if ISIS storms our shores threatens your country and family? Embrace them? Feed them? Forgive them when they take your daughter as spoils of war?" It's a hard question. One I can't actually answer as well as I'd like. I hope that I would find peace and a heart of forgiveness in the midst of persecution. There are Christians encountering just this in Iraq every day. There are more persecuted the world over. We have a comfy faith, comparatively. I don't know the answer to that question. Did Peter or Paul try to take out as many Romans as they could before they were taken to jail or killed? Did Peter try to get in one last punch before being hung upside down on a cross? What shows the work of the LORD in our lives better? Feeding our enemies or letting them starve?
It's a hard road to take seriously the inconvenient words of Christ when all of those around us would understand a moment of vengeance or justice, as the world would see it. I'm not sure the man that I would be in that moment, which is all the more frightening. Jesus...reduce me to love.
I'm reminded of the movie Kingdom of Heaven. As historically inaccurate as it may be, there was one moment that spoke to me. The King of Jerusalem tells Balian the following:
"A king may move a man, a father may claim a son, but that man can also move himself, and only then does that man truly begin his own game. Remember that howsoever you are played or by whom, your soul is in your keeping alone, even though those who presume to play you be kings or men of power. When you stand before God, you cannot say, "But I was told by others to do thus," or that virtue was not convenient at the time. This will not suffice. Remember that."
What is life?
According to the Oxford English Dictionary (my favorite of all dictionaries) it is: "The condition or attribute of being alive; animate existence. Opposed to death or inanimate existence."
Given this definition the major requirement is to be animate. I would extend that to saying self animate. To me, the moment of conception qualifies. After that moment the cells begin to divide on their own. From that very moment that life, self animation, begins life is precious. To me, all human life is sacred. Where I differ with many is that life in the womb isn't the only human life that is sacred or needs to be protected. It is all life that is sacred. The reason we fixate on life in the womb is because that is the life that is under attack at the moment, and it is life that cannot defend itself in any way.
How far do we take the sanctity of life then?
Because of my belief in the sanctity of life I am against the death penalty and most, if not all, war.
The death penalty is a much easier thing for me to explain than war, however they both share the same basic principal in my head; the moment you kill a man you've eliminated God's ability to deal with that man.
When a crime is egregious enough in this country we apply the death penalty as a means of deterrence. It's a very Old Testament ideal. If you murder then we kill you to serve as an example to others and satisfy the desire for vengeance/justice in the hearts of those left behind. It is very integral to our system of justice. If you commit the crime you must pay, and generally if you take a life you pay with your life.
I've never been able to square this with anything I find in the teachings of the New Testament. We are called to be merciful, loving, forgiving, to cast all our cares and anxiety on the LORD and, above all, be concerned with eternal matters specifically bringing everyone to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. So...at what point does capital punishment satisfy any of these things?
In my perception the only thing capital punishment does is satisfy the desires of our flesh. If someone, God forbid, was to murder one of my children or my spouse the emotions that would spring up within me would not be remotely holy. My response, my desires, would be of a purely animal nature. My desire would be to crush the life out of the perpetrator. Would those desires be wrong? If I believe that all human life is sacred, yes, it would be wrong. When Jesus calls us to forgive, or indeed when he calls us to anything higher in the scriptures, he is calling us to defy our animal and/or sin nature programming.
What Jesus calls us to is exactly what happened when a gunman shot up a school full of Amish children years ago. The Amish community took the time to make sure who was dead or alive, and then immediately went to the family of the gunman. They mourned together with that family, told them they forgave their son, insisted on taking care of them, and begged them not to move away because of that event. Had the gunman not taken his own life, with that heart on display, I'm not sure that the Amish community would have even pressed charges. They likely may have forgiven him and let the state do what it will and, again, taken care of the man's family. THAT preaches volumes to my heart on many levels.
This isn't as simple as those who hold up signs that say, "Why do we kill people in order to show people that killing people is wrong?". In the words of King's X, "I have trouble with the persons with the signs/ But sometimes I feel the need to make my own". If all human life is sacred then is a convict's life sacred? Or are we going to pick and choose whose lives are more or less sacred? A fellow Christian was discussing this issue with me and he remarked, "Yeah, Will, but how much do we spend each year to keep them alive? It's cheaper to give them a lethal injection than to give them Life without the possibility of parole." I was too stunned to even respond to that line of thinking. Once that heart stops beating we have removed any shot at someone influencing their life for Christ. There's no chance for God to work in them once we do that. To that I've heard responses such as, "Well, if God really wants to save them He'll get it done before the execution." How cheaply we regard life and capriciously we treat God's work.
If all human life is sacred then why do we support war?
This is where I'm the most shaky on this First Principle. By our mere existence we reap the benefits of those who have died in wars since the dawn of time. When I question how a Christian should feel about war the Revolutionary war gets thrown in my face about as much as the wars in the Old Testament. I wouldn't have the freedoms guaranteed (although lately I feel like I should put quotation marks around that word) in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights if we had not gone to war. Sadly, those arguments place the benefits we have as more important over what the words of Jesus actually are. How do we wage war when we are to love our enemies? Where do we find the justification to take another man's life when He specifically tells us not to stand in the way of a wicked man, but rather we are to turn the other cheek when beaten on one?
I do not look down on those who have served or think that military service is a sin or anything. I would never want a military person or someone in the police force to think for a second that I am not grateful for what they do. If the United States of America didn't get involved in World War II the slaughter would have continued. I am merely saying that if all human life is sacred then what do we do with that? I can't look at the scriptures and honestly say that it permits me to take a life...even in defense of my own person.
Now, in both of these concepts, capital punishment and war, I recognize their justifiable validity. The world would not work "properly" without them. The world outside the Church needs them. God calls His people to crazy things. As I've mentioned above he calls us to love our enemies. This isn't someone you have a disagreement with. He literally calls us to love those who despise us, ridicule us, and cause us physical harm (See St. Stephen and other disciples). He doesn't call us to be polite. He calls us to radical upside-down thinking on every level. Jesus in our lives calls us to defy every programming that the world has done to us.
My brethren have asked, "Well, what are you going to do if ISIS storms our shores threatens your country and family? Embrace them? Feed them? Forgive them when they take your daughter as spoils of war?" It's a hard question. One I can't actually answer as well as I'd like. I hope that I would find peace and a heart of forgiveness in the midst of persecution. There are Christians encountering just this in Iraq every day. There are more persecuted the world over. We have a comfy faith, comparatively. I don't know the answer to that question. Did Peter or Paul try to take out as many Romans as they could before they were taken to jail or killed? Did Peter try to get in one last punch before being hung upside down on a cross? What shows the work of the LORD in our lives better? Feeding our enemies or letting them starve?
It's a hard road to take seriously the inconvenient words of Christ when all of those around us would understand a moment of vengeance or justice, as the world would see it. I'm not sure the man that I would be in that moment, which is all the more frightening. Jesus...reduce me to love.
I'm reminded of the movie Kingdom of Heaven. As historically inaccurate as it may be, there was one moment that spoke to me. The King of Jerusalem tells Balian the following:
"A king may move a man, a father may claim a son, but that man can also move himself, and only then does that man truly begin his own game. Remember that howsoever you are played or by whom, your soul is in your keeping alone, even though those who presume to play you be kings or men of power. When you stand before God, you cannot say, "But I was told by others to do thus," or that virtue was not convenient at the time. This will not suffice. Remember that."
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