Many of us wear corrective lenses or glasses. We wear them because they help us to see more clearly. At least we see more clearly if the prescription is correct. If not…well, then life is a blur!  I have come to realize that many of us see life through various lenses!  The lens of gender, faith tradition, nationality or even region of a nation. We can see things through the lens of life experience, race, profession, political leanings or even something as innocent as preferences! It is very difficult to admit this and even harder to overcome. The only way to see our world around us accurately is to see it through a singular lens. As a follower of Christ our lens must be His life! Our sight must be His vision of the world! His life and His teachings cannot be viewed any other way except to follow Him!
 
Galatians 3:26-28 says,
“You have all become true children of God by the faith of Jesus the   Anointed One! It was faith that immersed you into Jesus, the Anointed One, and now you are covered and clothed with his anointing. And we no longer see each other in our former state—Jew or non-Jew, rich or poor, male or female—because we’re all one through our union with Jesus Christ with no distinction between us.”
 
     My initial thought about this verse is, “Wait just a minute, there is obviously still male and female! There is certainly still Jew and Gentile and of course, at that time there were still slaves.” So, what is up with Paul? His last statement is his point! He said, “because we’re all one through our union with Jesus Christ with no distinction between us.”  Or in the context of our thought here we all see each other through the same lens of our union with Christ. All of life is seen and approached through our union with Christ! Everything. Yes…everything. When everything concerning life is seen through our Christian faith then our behavioral structure is based on our faith. Our thoughts are developed through the lens of faith. My responses to issues and circumstances are based on my faith…which is based upon the life of Christ. Christianity is a complete life change! Remember, we are buried with Him in baptism! We die! We are raised “in newness of life!” That does not just mean we go to heaven someday! It means that I have died! Now the only life I should be living is His life! Directed by His thoughts! Governed by His actions! Being like Him! Seeing the world through the lens of His life!
 
Galatians 2:20 says,
“My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
 
     Stanley Hauerwas said, “Christianity is a politic. Not an American conservative or liberal politic! Christianity is a whole new way to be human that requires a complete reordering of the way we organize our lives both personally and in community. Christianity, as a politic, pushes us to ask how we should organize our common life in order to become more faithful to the way of Jesus!” Stanley seems to be expressing the very message of the gospel in that we now have a completely new identity in Christ! We are His. We have His heart. We have His thoughts. We see life through His glasses because that is the only prescription of a Christian! If we view life through any other lens it is blurry!
 
     Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. approached this thought by saying, “The Church must be reminded that it’s not the master or servant of the State but rather the conscience of the State. It must be the guide and the critic of the State and never its tool. If the Church does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority.” The Church of Jesus Christ is His expression on the earth. We must accept His standards of life and realize that the kingdom of heaven is our reference point! The Lord’s kingdom is the basis for life! Jesus expressed this clearly to Pilot when He said, “My kingdom is not of this world!” He was saying the authority and basis for life comes from another kingdom, not from this world and its systems! When our approach to life and when we see life primarily through any other lens beside the life of Christ it puts the Body of Christ at odds with each other! When we hyphenate the identity of Christian, we draw lines that separate. Female-Christian, Baptist-Christian, conservative-Christian, black-Christian or American-Christian. When we do this, we have just reassembled the wall that Paul said was removed in Christ!
 
     Jesus left us a great example during His temptation! When Satan came to Him and explained that there was another way to accomplish all of this redeeming of the world and society it says, “Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.”  “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, you must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.” It seems that Satan was tempting Jesus to redeem fallen man another way instead of God’s way! The way Christians approach fallen society seem to say that we are intent on changing fallen man another way besides God’s way…through controlling behavior. Jesus was clear when He said it’s only by submitting to worshipping God! It’s by serving Him only and not by serving a particular agenda! Think about it. I know that’s not our intent, but it sure seems to be our actions!
 
     Humans, and yes Christians, are addicted to power. We think that power is the only way to affect change! We are willing to seek out the power of the world, just like Satan’s temptation of Jesus, so that we can have the change we think is needed. True change only comes by the presence of God’s kingdom. Spreading the kingdom of God and seeing the change in the hearts of man through discipleship produces ultimate change. Once we commit ourselves to only wear the “glasses” of the life of Christ and see life through His lenses will we effectively engage the world around us and be ambassadors for Christ! Then we will fulfill our influence to “entreat the world to be reconciled to God!” True and lasting change in the world is weighing in the balance of how we view life! Let’s refuse to see through blurry lenses and put on the crystal clear glasses of our Perfect Lord!
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     I love to revisit the events of the last week of Jesus as we prepare for the great celebration of Resurrection morning! Many of the familiar stories of scripture get lost in the timeline of events and thereby loose much of the impact and meaning for us personally. As Jesus prepared Himself for death what was He thinking? What was He doing? What did He say to His followers? How did He respond to life? You see, I happen to believe that a person’s words and actions at the end of life reveal much of what they believe to be important.

     The traditional Christian Church around the world celebrates several of these events. Let’s look at some of these and learn the principles our Lord lived by.

     One of the events celebrated is called Holy Wednesday. It is thought to be the day when Judas Iscariot first conspired to betray our Lord. There are many theories as to the real reason Judas would betray His Lord. First, did Judas see Jesus as the true Messiah? Did he come to believe that this was, after all, a mistake? Jesus simply didn’t “operate” like the Messiah they expected. He seemed to be a little too soft on the Romans. This “love your enemies” stuff was just a little too farfetched! Come on man! Let’s do this thing and wipe out Rome and this oppression! Did Judas become convinced that the “political machine” was not employed enough by Jesus? After all, if you want to see societal change, the political machine was your weapon! Regardless of his motives, Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss! Even the kiss has been debated! Was he actually sorrowful and repentant? Had he come to his senses or was he putting forth a good “religious act” and going through the motions? Not that any of us have ever done that! Well, okay, maybe we have. Okay, of course we have! Are we sincere in our affection for The Lord or are we simply “going through the motions” as we worship?

     Maundy Thursday is the next celebrated day of what is known as Holy Week. “Maundy” originates from the Latin word “mandatum” which means “to command." From it we get our English word mandate. This celebration started as Christians realized the “commands” of The Lord on the Thursday evening before His arrest and torture. Being the night of Passover, Jesus and His disciples celebrated the festival as commanded in scripture as all Jews would. They prepared and gathered for the Seder Meal where each Jewish family practiced an elaborate celebration expressing God’s faithfulness delivering Israel from Egypt and journey to the Promised Land! Various pieces of matzo bread which represented God’s promises and several cups of wine which represented the many faithful promises of Jehovah! As Jesus and His disciples enjoyed this meal of God’s faithfulness, He said, “This bread is My broken body for you and this cup is My blood shed to establish a new covenant for you!” Can you imagine the utter shock to the disciples? Jesus had a habit of saying outrageous things, but this was one of the most precious celebrations of the Jewish faith and Jesus was even changing that too! Their heads must have spun when they heard this! What? Can You leave some sacred things alone? Good grief, Jesus you have now totally changed the way we do everything! Yes, yes, He did! The Master washed the servants’ feet! Jesus said you have no need for a priest to approach God for you, you can go to Him yourself! He is Abba, your heavenly daddy! Yes, He did change a few things!

     Then there is Good Friday. It’s good because that is the day when the Christ or Messiah fully represented God as a co-suffering servant and laid His life down as He showed the world forgiveness! The darkest day of human history was the womb of the greatest day of human history! The latent power of the all-powerful eternal God was put on display in such a bazaar and confusing way! Death. Not open conquest. Not brandishing strength by overwhelmingly embarrassing an opponent, but by dying! Admit it, that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever! None! Are we ready to humbly admit that “His ways are not our ways?” Could it actually be true that “His thoughts are not our thoughts?” Yes, it’s true. Death was defeated by dying! It’s also true that separation was healed by being separated! When Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” He experienced for the very first time a “separation” from Father! No human words can describe that event! Perfection separated from perfection! Pure love separated from pure love! It had never been before and I’m sure all of heaven was confused and in awe! What. Was. Happening?

     Holy Saturday is another day celebrated by some in the traditional church. It is a day of reflection of the day Jesus was “in the tomb.” Be honest, have you ever wondered what was going on that day? Scripture has little to say of the activities of that day. I’m sure the disciples and other followers of Jesus were in shock and devastated to say the least! This movement that they all had completely given their lives to was abruptly over. Their Rabbi dead. Movement over! Or was it? While most of the activity on earth had stopped it seems that the activity of heaven was in full swing! If we could “see into the spirit,” might we observe activity such as this?

      “So, Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever. Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.”

                                                    The Epistle to the Hebrews 9:11-15   

A concerning phenomenon is taking place in the Body of Christ in America, and it has actually been building for many years. The love we have for our country and the pride we share as a nation have actually overtaken many Christians' identity as a believer in Christ! We learn from the Early Church that the commitment of believers is to the “Jesus Way”. Sadly this has been replaced in the lives of many in the United States with the “American Way”! A healthy love of country and patriotism has been replaced by an unhealthy version of nationalism and exceptionalism. I love my country deeply but I refuse to allow it to become an idol that usurps the place of my Lord and Savior! I refuse to allow passionate words from powerful people to distort the life and words of my Lord!

Many believers in America can tell you much about the Bill of Rights but have little to no understanding of the Beatitudes. We have chosen to live and express our faith in such a way that the “moving of God” is governed by political advancement instead of Kingdom advancement. Some live in such a way as to act as though Christianity exists to promote the “American ideal” of life. Christianity is actually a radical challenge to some of those ideals! If you don’t believe it, read the Beatitudes.

The Christian confession of “Jesus is Lord” has been replaced by “We the people”! From scripture we learn that only Jesus has all authority to direct and rule nations. Only Jesus can determine the “manifest destiny” of nations! God has determined and set “times and boundaries” of nations.  The best hope of the world is Jesus, not America!!!

In 313 A.D. it appears that Constantine unknowingly injected nationalism and all of its accommodations into the Christian faith. Looking at that point in history, we began to see trends that have made their way into our modern western time. If we look closely, we can see that all of the noble and Godly advances of the Kingdom of God become precariously dependent upon political posturing! We must pass a bill, convince a politician or rule by state the tenets of the christian faith! Why, you ask? Could it be that we simply do not trust in the moving and power of God’s Spirit and therefore need instead the influence of political sway?

As a result we equate the American Way with the Jesus Way! Instead of being a voice for the Kingdom of God and challenging society with the ways of God, we have become a compromised version of The Body of Christ in the world that perpetuates the subtle lie that by conforming government to our definition of godliness, we will have the blessings and favor of God! We are NOT a voting block; we are The Church of Jesus Christ! We are NOT a special interest group; we are the representatives of God Almighty! Or at least we should be. After all, I seem to recall that being God’s original plan!

You see, nationalism, while sounding noble at first; can actually lead to the colonization of people, imperial expansion, economic injustice, militarism and racial oppression.

Back to an original question: Have we in The Church promoted The Bill of Rights over The Beatitudes? I think so! I fear that when we rise to our feet and salute, we can say The Pledge of Allegiance without flaw, but we stumble when reciting The Lord’s prayer! We live a life of unwavering loyalty to our country and its freedoms, but we are spiritual adulterers when it comes to our relationship with Jesus Christ. One of my favorite Christian authors asked the question, “Are you tangled up in red, white and blue?” Again, I must convey my love for America and my profound appreciation for those who serve here and abroad. I am simply concerned for The Body of Christ and the unequaled message of the Gospel! The only message that has within it the power to change mankind.

As a preacher, minister and pastor I am concerned first and foremost with helping people become more Christlike! I am driven daily by helping people walk in authentic discipleship and become an expression of God in the earth. That's my heart, my desire and my calling. The Lord has also called others to serve the purposes of God in other ways such as business, education and government. There are obviously places for service and expressions of service in all areas and I am grateful for those who do serve in these areas. We as followers of Christ can influence all parts of our world through these varied avenues. Let’s commit our lives to Christ in all of these areas and serve well and represent the Lord well! As we do, our society will be changed by the Gospel of Christ rather than trying to expect society to promote the Gospel of Christ and therefore align with my ideals of Christianity. We must realize the difference!

Several years ago I wrote a short study manual called, “Seven Pillars of Society.” In it I stressed how christians should allow their faith and values to guide them in their careers to the point that whole areas of society are impacted by the gospel. I considered how media, arts and entertainment, business, government, religion, and families can be changed as people of faith become leaders in their fields and express God’s standards. These pillars of society can greatly change by people living their faith consistently and openly. Simply put it is “lifestyle evangelism”. I still believe this today and have even become more convinced of this approach and it’s impact on culture!
Today in the Body of Christ, I have observed this approach turned on it’s head. Rather than allowing our christian standards and godly lifestyle to influence the “pillars of society”, we have begun to rely on the “pillars” to change society! Jesus responded to Pilate by saying, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest.” (John 18:36) I do firmly promote christian involvement in every area of society, especially in government! Unfortunately, today we are “fighting to prevent His arrest;” therefore, we are living as though His kingdom is of this world! It is not! Salvation and societal transformation will never come through political actions and influence. Rather societal transformation and influence come as, “The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.” ( Revelation 11:15)
I believe that presently theological divisions in the Body of Christ have been replaced by political division! We are hearing, “You may not have to believe the same as I believe about baptism, but you certainly must have the same political views!!” “You may not observe communion the way I do, but you must vote for the same candidate as I!” How sad! Yes, that is the climate in which we seem to live. I recently heard someone say that some Christians' behavior in the recent political cycle has set back our Christian message for a generation. I am sincerely concerned that they are correct. Let’s not lose our focus and message while being completely involved in all areas of society. Run for political office; but realize that your influence is your lifestyle and message not your political persuasion! Prayerfully consider your vote but realize societal change comes through a kingdom influence that is not of this world! May we not forget what we learned in Sunday School! “May Your kingdom come and may Your will be done on earth like it is in heaven.” (Mathew 6:10) Let’s live from a kingdom perspective!!! 

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