We've heard it said that we live in a secular age with a godless agenda. Humanistic and atheistic thinking permeate our society. A rash of new books denounce God and religion as irrelevant, divisive and destructive. What's a Christian to do?
Fighter - Photo By Rui Vale De Sousa. All rights reserved.
As believers, shouldn't we try to counter these attacks with unflinching faith and persuasive arguments? Some even suggest that we should legislate our Christian values to preserve our country. They say we are in a culture war and the only way to win is to use the tools and methods of the enemy. As noble and "holy" as this sounds, God doesn't need our defense. He was here before we came along, and He'll be here long after we're gone.
God Patrol
One Sabbath when Jesus was attending a religious service, a group of "God-defenders" we're in the congregation monitoring His words and actions. They were certain that God had appointed them to be His defenders of truth.
"In the congregation was a man who had a deformed right hand. The religious scholars and Pharisees watched Jesus; they suspected that He might try to perform a healing on that day, which they would use as evidence to convict Him of Sabbath-breaking."1
Earlier, when asked by the Pharisees why His disciples were breaking the Sabbath day eating kernels of wheat, Jesus countered their question with one of His own: "Haven't you ever read about the time when David and his companions were hungry? Don't you remember how they went into the house of God and took the sacred bread of the presence--which, you may recall, only the priest were lawfully permitted to eat? Remember that he not only ate it, but he also gave it to his companions? Likewise, the Son of Man has authority over the Sabbath."2
In essence, Jesus said, "The Sabbath is not about rules, regulations or restrictions, rather it is a day of celebration; a day of liberation and joy. The Sabbath is a means to an end. It is not the end. The Sabbath is a day to discover origins, purpose and meaning. It is not an institution that we must be subservient to. It is the gateway to a deeper relationship with God and His creation."
This discovery cannot be mandated and defended in an institutional way as a doctrine of faith, but rather it can only be experienced and embraced on a personal level. We are not defending God as much as we are reveling in His goodness--which becomes a positive incentive for non-believers to want to know more about the God we love.
Back to the man with the deformed hand. As he stood there in the synagogue, Jesus decided to use him to illustrate the broader intent of the Sabbath laws.
Jesus told the man to "stand in front of everyone. The man did so. Then Jesus spoke directly to the religious scholars and Pharisees."
"Here's a question for you: On the Sabbath Day, is it lawful to do good or to do harm? Is it lawful to save life or to destroy it?"
"He turned his gaze to each of them, one at a time. Then He spoke to the man."
"Stretch your hand out."
"As the man did, his deformed hand was made normal again. This made the Pharisees and religious scholars furious. They began discussing together what they would do to Jesus."3
Amazing! The religious leaders were bent on defending God's truth (their interpretation of it), even if it meant killing God. Of course, they didn't believe Jesus was God. But they reached the point were their convictions took prominence over their ability to reason and believe. Personal faith morphed into a creed that could not be questioned or examined.
May God deliver us from the urge to purge the world of everything we don't agree with or understand. Let us humbly follow on to know the Lord, and let God be God!
1. Luke 6:6-7 (The Voice)
2. Luke 6:3-5 (The Voice)
3. Luke 6:8-11 (The Voice)
What's interesting is that after the Great Commission, people shared their story of God all over the Roman Empire. When they had completed that (into the 2nd century), the church slowed down; the local lay leaders of churches settled down and wanted to get paid, and a mindset of sharing their story of God with others disappeared.
As the attention turned from mission, the attention turned to perfecting the "saints." This led - ultimately to the Inquisition. Mission was done by armies and battles - by the government and "church."
Maybe what we need is to return to a mission mindset that says, "I must mingle among people to show them God's love. This world is not my home, I don't have many ties here - except as I can love them and share my story."
It's alot harder to legislate against my friend who is a homosexual than against a "homosexual agenda" or any other hot button issue.
May we truly love people and share our stories with them.... And return to a passion for loving people rather than trying to perfect them.
Posted by: Brian Yeager | May 09, 2009 at 07:34 AM
Excellent points. You are right! We need to return to the attitude that we're just passing through on our way to our real home.
Posted by: Rich DuBose | May 10, 2009 at 08:11 AM