I didn’t go to church yesterday. It was a conscious choice. I believed that because it was the tenth anniversary of September 11th that the service had a strong potential to be political; Political as in partisan politics.
I believe that God loves all his creations; both those who have the good fortune to live and worship in the United States of America and those who live and worship else where. I believe that our goal as followers of Jesus is to seek and save the lost. Unfortunately, because Americans have grown up as Americans we see the world through our Americanized ways.
We believe that we are ‘We the People’ and that we have a right and a responsibility to do things ‘in order to form a more perfect union’. However, as followers of Jesus we must set aside our Americanization’s and pick up the cross of Jesus. In Romans 13:1-7, Paul deals directly with the Christian’s attitude and conduct with respect to governmental authority. vs 3 In particular, Paul addresses the Christian’s relationship to civil government.vs 4 There are a number of reasons Christians and civil government might be at odds with one another, and Christians might wrongly twist these into excuses for disrespect and disobedience to authorities.
First, civil government is secular in nature while Christianity is spiritual. Christians are aliens and strangers, just passing through this world (see 1 Peter 1:1). Their citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). Second, the state can look upon Christianity as competitive, even hostile to its authority. The Christian’s highest authority is God. In Rome, Caesar was “god.” Because of this, Romans considered Christians as atheists. Christianity was eventually seen as treasonous. Third, at times Christians were required to “obey God, rather than men” (see Acts 5:29), which openly confirmed the government’s suspicions. Fourth, government officials, either unconsciously or willingly, used their authority to actively oppose the church and to persecute Christians.
In Luke 9:49-62 Jesus admonishes his followers to put away their concern for earthly things. We MUST put our eyes toward heaven and not look back at the world around us. Jesus had no place for followers who were duel in purpose.
What about you? Are your eyes on Jesus or the world in which you exist?
