American Politics and Jesus
I'm sick.
I don't have COVID-19 or any other illness, but I am so sick.
I am sick and tired of people using the Bible and Jesus to promote or defend their agenda.
Jesus didn't go to the cross for us to distort his words. The Bible isn't a moral code for us to throw in one another's face. None of this narrative is about us.
Jesus is not a Republican. Jesus is not a Democrat. Jesus is the son of God who came to seek and save the lost. Fun fact: the lost people are all of us. Jesus died for everyone. He died for the Democrat, Libertarian, Republican, Socialist, Whig, Federalist.
God created humans to be in perfect community with Him. Adam and Eve ruined that for their descendants when they stopped trusting God and ate the fruit. We were then cast out of the Garden of Eden and separated from God.
In His love and mercy, God promised a descendant of Eve would rise up and crush the head of the snake. This is Jesus. He came to Earth as a baby, lived a perfect and sinless life on Earth, and he was brutally murdered at the urging his own people. In this death, he defeated sin. We still sin as humans, but God forgives us of our sins when we repent because of Jesus' death on the cross.
This occurred thousands of years before the United States of America came into existence.
Jesus is not American. He is not white. He was born in Bethlehem, which is in Israel. He was a middle eastern Jew. He probably never referred to himself as a Christian because the word literally means "little Christ". It was a name given to the early followers of Jesus who were Jewish and Gentile (non-Jew). It has since evolved to identify members of Protestant churches.
Why do so many Americans think that Jesus was a white man who supports their political ideologies?
We have distorted the Savior of the world, who was with God in the beginning, into something that fits our beliefs.
I listened to a sermon by Berry College's Chaplain, Jon Huggins, a few weeks ago. He preached on Matthew 6:1-24. Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray. This sermon actually stretched over two weeks and each week I was reminded that I need to look to God first. The first response of the Christian should be prayer. Our eyes should be fixed on God, not the ideologies of this world.
Our beliefs should come from what the Bible says. Not what a party says.
After the second week of Jon's sermon on prayer, I was discussing politics and current events over lunch. A wise friend brought up this point: Christians do not have a political home because our loyalty and source of beliefs lies with God and His Word.
God is the ultimate authority over our lives because he gave everything for us. We obey his commands out of love because He first loved us.
Jesus didn't come to save the Conservative Americans. He didn't come to save the Liberal Americans.
Jesus came to save everyone.
He isn't on the side of the Republicans. He isn't on the side of the Democrats. He isn't on the side of the Libertarians. He isn't on the side of America.
Jesus is on God's side. As cliche as that sounds, it is true.
Please, stop trying to make Jesus, God, the Holy Spirit, and the Bible, members of a political party.
I don't have COVID-19 or any other illness, but I am so sick.
I am sick and tired of people using the Bible and Jesus to promote or defend their agenda.
Jesus didn't go to the cross for us to distort his words. The Bible isn't a moral code for us to throw in one another's face. None of this narrative is about us.
Jesus is not a Republican. Jesus is not a Democrat. Jesus is the son of God who came to seek and save the lost. Fun fact: the lost people are all of us. Jesus died for everyone. He died for the Democrat, Libertarian, Republican, Socialist, Whig, Federalist.
God created humans to be in perfect community with Him. Adam and Eve ruined that for their descendants when they stopped trusting God and ate the fruit. We were then cast out of the Garden of Eden and separated from God.
In His love and mercy, God promised a descendant of Eve would rise up and crush the head of the snake. This is Jesus. He came to Earth as a baby, lived a perfect and sinless life on Earth, and he was brutally murdered at the urging his own people. In this death, he defeated sin. We still sin as humans, but God forgives us of our sins when we repent because of Jesus' death on the cross.
This occurred thousands of years before the United States of America came into existence.
Jesus is not American. He is not white. He was born in Bethlehem, which is in Israel. He was a middle eastern Jew. He probably never referred to himself as a Christian because the word literally means "little Christ". It was a name given to the early followers of Jesus who were Jewish and Gentile (non-Jew). It has since evolved to identify members of Protestant churches.
Why do so many Americans think that Jesus was a white man who supports their political ideologies?
We have distorted the Savior of the world, who was with God in the beginning, into something that fits our beliefs.
I listened to a sermon by Berry College's Chaplain, Jon Huggins, a few weeks ago. He preached on Matthew 6:1-24. Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray. This sermon actually stretched over two weeks and each week I was reminded that I need to look to God first. The first response of the Christian should be prayer. Our eyes should be fixed on God, not the ideologies of this world.
Our beliefs should come from what the Bible says. Not what a party says.
After the second week of Jon's sermon on prayer, I was discussing politics and current events over lunch. A wise friend brought up this point: Christians do not have a political home because our loyalty and source of beliefs lies with God and His Word.
God is the ultimate authority over our lives because he gave everything for us. We obey his commands out of love because He first loved us.
Jesus didn't come to save the Conservative Americans. He didn't come to save the Liberal Americans.
Jesus came to save everyone.
He isn't on the side of the Republicans. He isn't on the side of the Democrats. He isn't on the side of the Libertarians. He isn't on the side of America.
Jesus is on God's side. As cliche as that sounds, it is true.
Please, stop trying to make Jesus, God, the Holy Spirit, and the Bible, members of a political party.
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