Last night, as I laid in bed waiting for Hurricane Irene to blow my roof off, I was reading the Chapter entitled "The Wall Comes Tumbling Down" referring to the Berlin Wall.
I read:
"...In East Germany, one of the few Eastern European countries with a Protestant majority, for forty years the church sought ways to serve the "city of God" while living in an officially atheistic "city of the world". Since many avenues (such as television and radio) were closed, early on the church adopted a commitment to care for the neediest members of society, especially the profoundly disabled. And they met together regularly for worship and prayer.
Although Jesus spoke of a "kingdom that is within you," throughout history the church has faced constant temptation to form alliances with external centers of power. The US church faces just that temptation today, with its emphasis on politics rather than spirituality. Yet, in a nation like East Germany under Communism, that possibility did not exist. Christians there had no "power base" as such, none but the power of love and prayer."
OK, that is just a tiny excerpt. But is resonates so deeply with me. Forgive me for generalizing here, but I must say that the church of the US really gets on my nerves. If some of the people who claim to love Jesus would just quit trying to get into a position of POWER and instead find the POWER of loving and serving others with compassion, humility, kindness and love! The power of the kingdom of Jesus has nothing to do with politics. It is the power of grace and love and serving. Unfortunately, many will never see that power. Because so many followers of Christ spend all of their time, energy, and voice condemning and judging and fighting at the political levels instead of loving, accepting, extending grace and shining the light of Jesus to actual people in need.
When did Jesus ever command his followers to "go out and judge others...." or to "go out and make laws for people to follow...."
No! Jesus commanded his followers to Love God and Love others. He also commanded us to make disciples.
If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, how are you reflecting His love to others? I'm not saying I am good at it myself, but it is my hope and prayer that our family, and our church community is a light of hope and a refuge for all. Pointing the finger and making judgements on others is not a way to reflect light. Nor is it a way to transform hearts that are broken and hurting and in need of repair. And, making laws that we think will force people to do the right thing? That doesn't transform hearts either. The only way I believe that a heart can be transformed is the power of love. And I believe that Jesus offers that love. That power.
I know that there are a lot of amazing people who are humbly serving others and living in a way that reflects the love of Jesus. And I also know that the media loves to focus more on the negative, destructive, ugly side of things. So, we are much more likely to hear about the nasty and ugly side of the church in our country. But, I really hope that more people who claim to be followers of Jesus will let go of their faith in nationalism and politics and embrace the faith that Jesus modeled for us.
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