Monday, November 10, 2014
417 - Looking for a Fight
Spirituality Column #417
November 11, 2014
Current in Carmel-Westfield-Noblesville- Fishers-Zionsville
This column is not big on nakedly discussing cultural or public affairs because what we are trying to explain is Jesus, not society.
Pick an emotionally charged social topic – abortion, gay marriage, health care, race relations, public education, immigration, climate change, political parties, Ebola quarantines, etc. (sorry if I left out your favorite), start a Christian discussion about it, and see how quickly Jesus – Lord of All – either gets lost in a disputatious maelstrom, blamed for a human injustice, or underestimated as too small, inconsequential or ill-equipped to solve “such a big problem,” whatever it is.
In my experience, believers easily arrive at opinionated disparities and fearful dissension regardless of whether we are talking with other Christians, followers of other faiths, or intelligent, secular, engaged, garden variety non-religious non-believers. Contretemps are more likely than productive discussion where social issues are concerned. Don’t we each figure we are experts on “the right thing to do”? Witness the insipid infestation of postmodernism: that the universal, cosmic, moral absolute of Jesus Christ and the ultimate truth and embodiment of Right and Wrong that He surely is, just aren’t hip these days. Modern knowledge and sensibilities supplant divine authority.
Conflict is natural to the fallen world; people would rather fight than switch. It’s hard to invoke the loving, righteous message of Christ in a contentious environment because, as a general rule, when people are angry they don’t listen and can’t learn.
We Christians often don’t help matters. We may clearly see the truth of Jesus Christ, but we make the same mistake non-believers make in thinking that we ourselves, with our words, actions or intentions, can fix the world’s oldest and biggest problem – i.e., Sin – from which all others emanate: the fall of mankind.
Besides, it’s almost impossible to explain Jesus to a lot of people – not in the sense that Billy Graham explained Jesus to “a lot of people” but in the sense that a lot of people simply don’t or won’t accept the gift of grace and relationship Jesus presents.
Ask Jesus, listen to Jesus, trust Jesus, praise Jesus. Life is no more complicated than that if we’d just believe it. But we come up short. We rely on ourselves, trust our instincts, and go with our gut. We muddle God’s plan.
Our human efforts are not now, never have been, and never will be the answer to fixing the social problems of this fallen world. The answer is to find Christ, and we can, if only we’ll look for Him.
One thing you can trust is that Jesus is always looking for us.
Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) believes Christianity is not about our earthly needs or opinions; it is about God’s glory.
November 11, 2014
Current in Carmel-Westfield-Noblesville- Fishers-Zionsville
Looking for a Fight
By Bob WaltersThis column is not big on nakedly discussing cultural or public affairs because what we are trying to explain is Jesus, not society.
Pick an emotionally charged social topic – abortion, gay marriage, health care, race relations, public education, immigration, climate change, political parties, Ebola quarantines, etc. (sorry if I left out your favorite), start a Christian discussion about it, and see how quickly Jesus – Lord of All – either gets lost in a disputatious maelstrom, blamed for a human injustice, or underestimated as too small, inconsequential or ill-equipped to solve “such a big problem,” whatever it is.
In my experience, believers easily arrive at opinionated disparities and fearful dissension regardless of whether we are talking with other Christians, followers of other faiths, or intelligent, secular, engaged, garden variety non-religious non-believers. Contretemps are more likely than productive discussion where social issues are concerned. Don’t we each figure we are experts on “the right thing to do”? Witness the insipid infestation of postmodernism: that the universal, cosmic, moral absolute of Jesus Christ and the ultimate truth and embodiment of Right and Wrong that He surely is, just aren’t hip these days. Modern knowledge and sensibilities supplant divine authority.
Conflict is natural to the fallen world; people would rather fight than switch. It’s hard to invoke the loving, righteous message of Christ in a contentious environment because, as a general rule, when people are angry they don’t listen and can’t learn.
We Christians often don’t help matters. We may clearly see the truth of Jesus Christ, but we make the same mistake non-believers make in thinking that we ourselves, with our words, actions or intentions, can fix the world’s oldest and biggest problem – i.e., Sin – from which all others emanate: the fall of mankind.
Besides, it’s almost impossible to explain Jesus to a lot of people – not in the sense that Billy Graham explained Jesus to “a lot of people” but in the sense that a lot of people simply don’t or won’t accept the gift of grace and relationship Jesus presents.
Ask Jesus, listen to Jesus, trust Jesus, praise Jesus. Life is no more complicated than that if we’d just believe it. But we come up short. We rely on ourselves, trust our instincts, and go with our gut. We muddle God’s plan.
Our human efforts are not now, never have been, and never will be the answer to fixing the social problems of this fallen world. The answer is to find Christ, and we can, if only we’ll look for Him.
One thing you can trust is that Jesus is always looking for us.
Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) believes Christianity is not about our earthly needs or opinions; it is about God’s glory.
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