Tag Archives: government

Jesus’ Political Platform

Posted on by
4

We often look at the Beatitudes as a moral code. We see it as an ideal that no one can really live up to. Perhaps it is a goal that we strive to achieve so that God will grant us entrance to heaven some day.

As we head into another presidential campaign, we see politicians come out of the woodwork to announce their run for office in 2024. A big question is asked: “What is your platform? What issues are important to you? What will you do for the American people?”

Jesus came not running for a political office. In fact, He said His kingdom was not of this world. Yet, He had a platform. He had a plan for how His government would function. Sadly, the majority of his listeners did not sign up for his program.

Sadly, even today, we refuse to really take his ideas seriously.

“The work of the kingdom is in fact summed up pretty well in the beatitudes. Blessed are the poor, the mourners, the meek, those hungering for justice, the merciful, the pure-hearted, peacemakers, and the persecuted. These people are not only blessed, but more than that, even in their vulnerability and weakness, they are the ones precisely through whom Jesus intends blessings to flow to others. These sayings are about the type of people through whom Jesus intends to transform the world. When God wants to change the world, he doesn’t launch missiles. Instead, he sends in the meek, the mourners, and the merciful. When God wants to put things to right, he doesn’t scramble combat jets, he calls people to love and do justice. Through those kinds of people, the blessings of God’s reign began to appear in the world.” N.T. Wright

Oh that God would grant us a man/woman who would not mouth religious statements, but really live by God’s platform. Oh, that we would be a nation that would support such a candidate.

To What Do You Pledge Allegiance?

Posted on by
Reply

I try to stay away from political posts because my goal for this blog was to encourage, and maybe make someone smile.

However, our current political scene is so chaotic, and our politicians are contributing, not to unity, but division. What makes me sad is to see the church trading its beliefs to gain political power. So when I read this today in my study, I must share it.

These are not my words. The following is taken from the book “The New Testament in Its World” by N.T. Wright.

When Paul says that “our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20) he is emphasizing that the Messiah, who reigns in heaven, and who will one day return from heaven, is the object of our hope and loyalty. There was nothing wrong with being a citizen of Rome, just as there is nothing wrong with being a British or an American citizen. But when the gospel of Jesus is unveiled it reveals the true empire, the true citizenship, the true lord and in that light all the pretensions of empire, not least the arrogant and blasphemous claims of the emperor himself, or the propaganda of power-hungry presidents, are exposed as folly. The church’s vocation is not to bless the power, policies, and pantheon of civic leaders, but to measure them by the standard of Christ, to pursue the things that make for peace and justice, and to proclaim that all will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. The church was never intended to be the religious department of any empire, but always to be building for the true kingdom, setting up an embassy for the one true lord, living lives according to his symbols, his teaching, his story and no other. If that means suffering, that will mean following the pattern of the Messiah, and confidently expecting his rescue and reward. The church’s loyalty cannot be auctioned off to those who promise it political influence; not can its core convictions be pummeled into submission to fit the reigning zeitgeist. For citizens of heaven, the gospel should be declared, not domesticated.