A Kingdom Divided

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This is a letter to all who call themselves followers of Jesus Christ:

Church, it is time.

It is time to rise. up. and be the salt and light this country so desperately needs.

You don’t need me to tell you our current situation.

First, a deadly global pandemic with nationwide lockdowns and quarantines that characterize our days. The news greets us each morning with hundreds more dead, hospitals unable to keep up, and governments unsure of how to address the situation. Dark fear slithers its way across the country, far more contagious than COVID-19, staining the hearts of people young and old and rendering our minds anything but sound.

And then, as counties finally reopen, we get hit with another blow. We watch evil unfold in the killing of a black man under the knee of a white police officer, bringing layers of hurt, fear, anger, and disgust to a head with angry riots and looting across the country.

We need reform. We need to prevent this from happening again. That much is clear. Yet perhaps more importantly, we need divine healing and restoration. Thankfully, our God specializes in these. But I believe first, He wants His church to call out to Him in unity for this healing. I believe He wants us to wake up and start taking our relationship with Him seriously. After all, how can we expect Him to reach this nation with His healing touch if we — His ambassadors — aren’t reflecting His nature?

Because, tragically, we aren’t.

We are the church, and yet we are participating in fights on social media, fanning the flames, and somehow mistakenly believing the false idea that following Christ goes hand-in-hand with politics and patriotism.

Church, we must cling to the truth that our God is bigger than any political party and our hope should lie in Him alone — not in political movements, not in our president, and not in our country. It seems we view politics as a battle of good vs. evil and mistakenly characterize the leaders of the two major political parties as such. But in doing this, we fail to remember that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). In those heated political moments, we forget that God is the One who allows each leader to rise up into a position of leadership and that ultimately, He is still on the throne, regardless of who leads this country.

We need to wake up.

Wake Up in Unity

Jesus said that every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste (Matthew 12:25). If we believe Him, then we really can’t say we love our country while we attack half of its beloved people for having different political beliefs than we do. If we truly love this nation, we should protect it by striving for unity. If we truly love this nation, then we as the church must resist the urge to join in on the discord and seek the Lord in all of our decisions, choosing to associate ourselves with the cross of Christ rather than a political party.

Note: I’m not suggesting that we have no political opinions. Rather, I believe God wants us to hold those opinions with a grain of salt, using them along with His guidance as we vote, and never allowing them to bring a seed of bitterness, division, or hatred to His people who vote for “the other party”. 

Wake Up in Power

Jesus said we will have trouble in this world, but to take heart because He has overcome the world (John 16:33). If we trust Him in this, then we need to stand on that promise and stay encouraged. Our inspiration shouldn’t come from any president, political movement, or social progress, but from knowing that Jesus is alive and He reigns in victory. As the church, we must practice discipline and seek the Lord in the messages we spread on social media, recognizing it as a tool that wields tremendous power. We must choose to point our social media followers to the love of Christ rather than a political agenda, or worse, a message that plants seeds of fear.

Wake Up in Love

Speaking of fear, let’s remember that it is Christ’s perfect love that casts out fear (1 John 4:18). And oh, how this world needs an antidote. Even we as a church need to be reminded. How many of us express fear for our children, or anxiety over political oppression, mandatory vaccines, or some pervasive and complicated conspiracy designed to take over our lives and freedom and turn our country into a socialist dystopia.

Let’s not forget that the early church lived under very real oppression. And yet, their hope stood strong and solid in Jesus.

In fact, let’s look to Jesus Himself as a reminder of what our conduct should look like. While He walked the earth, there were plenty of political causes and social issues He could have tackled, but He never got swept up in those arguments. He simply. loved. people.

And look at the movement He started.

If there is any hope for healing, restoration, and revival in this country, then it must start in the church. We need to make a choice (yes, it’s a choice) to embrace the joy and peace we have in the Lord and start seeking Him with all of our hearts. When we do, we hand the reins of change over to Him.

This is how change happens. This is where revival is born. It is organic, grassroots, and flows freely from the love of Christ. When we link up with Him, we can do great and mighty things.

Church, it is time to wake up. It is time to humble ourselves and start seeking Jesus over any agendas.  It is time to choose love over fear and opinions. If we want to see healing in our country, I believe it has to start with those of us who call ourselves by His name. Please join me in praying over this.

 

My Prayer This Month

Heavenly Father, thank You that You are a God of endless mercy. I pray that You would ignite a fire in our spirits and cause Your church to rise up in unity, power, and love. Give Your church clarity and soundness of mind to not get swept up in the chaos and friction that has run so rampant in this country. Help us to find our solid footing in You, and You alone. I pray that the church — Your people — would have eyes to see the spiritual battle that rages behind the scenes of what is happening around us, recognizing the enemy as Satan (not a specific political party, race, or even generation). I pray that, as Your church, we would divorce ourselves from these evil divisions and start fighting the real enemy in prayer. I pray all of these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.