Hello Saints,
I suppose most of you know there's a certain event coming up this Tuesday. By Wednesday morning we will know what the new makeup of our local, state, and national government will be next year. The incessant texts, emails, billboards, junkmail, and adds will finally stop. I am not about to declare who I am voting for, or even worse, tell you who to vote for.
I do want to share a few thoughts.
First, to quote the Podcast Truth over Tribe, we need to remember to pledge "our allegiance to the Lamb, not the donkey or the elephant." Our nation, our kingdom, is not one that any person or group of people, however good, will found in this world. Our primary identity is not as citizens of any nation but the Kingdom of God. The image we have of all the saints worshipping before God in the book of Revelation is that of people from every nation and tribe declaring their worship and allegiance to the Lamb.
Second, knowing the above, we are still called to be good citizens of the nation we are a part of as much as we are able. We do not disengage and abandon this world, however much we might be tempted to despair. Thank God that's not the way Jesus treats us. "While we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son.",.
Third, we have a variety of political views in our church community. Even your Rectors don't agree on many things! (She's a Democrat, I'm a Republican) However, as I said above, our primary identity is not our in our politics, but in our worship of Christ. We may have times of "vigorous fellowship." Often our disagreements are more about methodology rather than about our end goals. We can come back together in friendship and love because ultimately we both want to see more of God's kingdom break into our world.
Finally, whatever happens on Tuesday, God is still in control. As Jesus says, "I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." We know the end of the story. We know He who is the author of history, and we know that there will come a day when "all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well." (Julian of Norwich)
In Christ,
Jamey +
I just wanted to post the song Blessed again as we are reading the Beatitudes in church tomorrow. The song is not a direct quote from the passage, but it does capture the essence of what He was saying in a wonderful and powerful way.
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