GRACE BLOGS COLLECTION
Jesus made room at his table for everyone, including those on opposite ends of thought. At Jesus’ table, everyone has a place and everyone is equal. I can imagine that the discussions that went on among his disciples were pretty lively at times, especially between two of them — Matthew, the tax collector and Simon, the zealot.
In Jesus’ time and country, a tax collector was a Jewish man who was working for the Roman government. They were looked upon with disdain by their fellow Jews. They were not included in the temple, nor were they guests of honor at anyone’s party. The tax collectors would basically bid for their job. They would tell Rome they could extract X amount of dollars in taxes. If the number pleased the Romans they got the job. However, many of them collected way more than their bid, which they ended up pocketing. They were extorting their fellow countryman for the sake of their oppressors.
Zealots, on the other end of the spectrum, were revolutionaries. They were the ones that wanted to take Israel back from Roman domination. They wanted their country back and they were willing to kill Romans to get it back. They believed in the sovereignty of Israel and were willing to lay down their lives for the cause. They hated the Romans and wanted them gone.
Jesus invites both of these men to his table and his team. I wish I could go back in time and see these two men interact with one another. It would be like putting the most conservative Republican on the same team with the most liberal Democrat. Jesus had some guts. And he made it work.
What this shows me is that it’s possible to disagree with someone and still work together, and *gasp* even be friends. Jesus’ instructed these guys to love one another as their commitment to him. He taught them to serve one another as he had served them. He taught them to love one another as he had loved them.
I am sure that it took a while for these two to get it but eventually, they did. Both had to give up their ideologies for a picture of a much bigger kingdom. Jesus wasn’t interested in the politics of his day. He was interested in establishing his kingdom. I think the same is true today.
Now, back to American politics. It really grieves me the way that the American Church is acting over politics. You would think that we were at war with one another split down a political line. I’ve read so many statements on Facebook about how you cannot be a Christian if you vote for Hilary Clinton. I’ve read about the same number of people stating there’s no way you can be a Christian and vote for Donald Trump.
My Christianity isn’t based on who I vote for . . . my Christianity is based upon whom I confess as Lord . . . and that is Christ.
You would think that during election time Christians somehow have managed to throw out the teachings of Jesus until after election day. Even then there will be doomsayers on whichever side loses. So many people are afraid the country is going to hell in a hand basket if either candidate gets elected. Folks, I have heard this rhetoric since I started voting.
If we truly believe that Jesus is Lord then stop your bellyaching, name-calling, mud-slinging and judging and start doing what he told us to do…prefer one another and love one another as he loved us, especially towards those that disagree with you.
In the end, our trust has to be in HIM and not a political party. Neither Trump or Clinton will be the savior of the United States. Neither one of them are, nor will be, the perfect candidate.
If Jesus can take two opposing men and bring them together, helping them understand there is a larger kingdom that we are to be concerned with, then don’t you think we should do the same?
My fellow Christians, please hear me . . . you are a Christ-follower first and foremost, an American second, and a member of a political party (or not) third. Don’t forget that order. Right now the people outside of the Church think we are a bunch of whiny cry-babies when we don’t get our way.
We are to be known for our love, not our political affiliation. If you want to immerse yourself in the political arena, then, by all means, go for it. Just remember who you represent! You represent Love (for God is love). Jesus taught his followers to love their enemies and to bless those that persecuted them. He said this to a group of people living under a hard and repressive regime.
At the end of the day, someone will win, and someone is going to lose. God will still be God 
and live will continue on. Will there be changes? Of course, hopefully for the betterment of everyone. Regardless of who is in the White House, we are called to pray for our leaders, submit to the governing authorities and do all we can to live in peace.
There’s a place for you at the table of Jesus. There’s also a place for the person who politically believes exactly opposite as you do.
Matthew and Simon learned the lessons of Jesus.
Will we? I sure hope so!
For a very interesting article on a greater kingdom perspective in this election, read Brian Zahnd’s article on How I Am Voting.
A number of months ago a panel of four of us had a great time recording a program on how to unplug from the pressure of stress on Enjoying Everyday Life, my Mom’s TV program. I hope you thoroughly enjoy this discussion and it helps you enter into a greater level of peace! If you […]
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We’ve all seen the Facebook posts and the pictures flooding social media: Black Lives Matter, Blue Lives Matter, All Lives Matter. All Lives Matter started after Black Lives Matter. It was, in my opinion, a way of saying that black lives do matter but not more so than any other life.
The question remains, though, do we really believe that all lives matter? We have a tendency to politize things, say things that we don’t mean and mean things that we don’t really say. Do ALL lives really matter?
Let’s think about this for a moment.
Do the lives of the homeless matter? If so, then why do we have so many? Why are they passed by and ignored? Why are they silently judged and condemned? Most of us would like to believe that they are homeless by choice. Some of them are. Some of them have chosen that life. However, there are many that have not. They need help but there is no help for them. I have been guilty of ignoring their plight. I have been guilty of not wanting to give money because I don’t know their full story (i.e. whether they are worthy of my money or not). The problem is: to ignore someone is to say that they don’t matter.
Do the lives of the elderly matter? If so, then why do so many of them languish in nursing homes without anyone coming to visit or check on them? So many have families that never visit or check on them. So they stay there alone, ignored, and despised, sometimes for simply not being able to take care of themselves. Some do not have family and just do not have anyone to care about them. Again, to ignore them is to say they don’t matter.
Do the lives of the unborn matter? If so, then why are they aborted? Oh, I know that many would argue they are not really a life because they have not entered the world yet. But here’s the hypocrisy of that argument: how is that a man can be charged with double homicide for killing a pregnant woman but a pregnant woman aborting her baby is exercising her choice? Doesn’t make much sense to me. If it’s not a living being then there is no double murder. If it is a living being then abortion is murder. I know this is a touchy, hotly debated issue but if we are going to say that all lives matter, then ALL lives have to matter.
Do the lives of convicts matter? If so, then why are they so harshly judged and condemned. “Well, they are getting what they deserve. Don’t commit a crime if you can’t do the time.” That’s the prevailing attitude. I am not saying that people who commit crimes should not be penalized. However, when does that penalty stop? I’ve seen too many men get out of prison after serving their time, paying their debt to society and still be treated like animals because they did something stupid. But, I guess their lives don’t matter as much as a non-criminal.
I still believe in the death penalty but I know of plenty of Christians that do not because of the argument that if you are going to be truly pro-life then you have to be pro-ALL-life including convicted murders. To these Christians, ALL life does matter.
Do the lives of the LGBT community matter? If so, then why are they so harshly judged by the Church? Why are they condemned and considered perverts and outcasts? Most would answer, “Well, the Bible says so!!!” Yes, the Bible does speak about homosexuality. It also addresses fornication, adultery, lying, gossip, hate, overeating and other sins that we like to ignore and overlook. Most likely because these are “our” sins that we don’t want to be convicted of. Just a thought.
Do the lives of Muslims matter? If so, why are so quick to judge all Muslims as terrorists? I know that there are terrorists that kill in the name of their god. I know that terrorism must be stopped. I am not certain that our quickness to kill can be considered Christ-like, especially when we consider the fact there have been thousands of innocent civilians killed in drone strikes. Oh well, they were just born in the wrong country, to the wrong family in the wrong religion. Their lives matters if they do what is right (according to me that is).
I hope that you get my point. I recognize that there will be valid arguments on each of these issues that need to be addressed. However, at the core of who I am as a Christian, I must love people like Jesus loved me. His death on the cross proved that my life matters. I believe that my life matters. I believe that the lives of those I love and care about matters. And, I must believe that those that are different from me, even my enemies that might want me dead, their lives matter too. They mattered to Jesus because He died for them as much as He died for me.
What I am saying is that unless we truly believe that ALL lives matter then we need top stop saying it. Personally, I contend that what we really believe is….all lives matter, just not equally.
The true test of whether we believe all lives matter is when we are faced with being offended or threatened. I can say that all lives matter, but if someone is trying to hurt my children then suddenly my children’s lives take precedence in that situation and their lives, to me, matter more. Most of us would agree with that. So, in that instance, all lives do not matter equally.
We must come face to face with our own hypocrisy, racism, and self-righteousness. We must learn to stop ignoring people that are different because to ignore them is to say they don’t matter. In my heart, I want to believe that ALL lives really do matter — equally. However, my actions, attitudes, and judgements don’t always reflect this.
We might believe that all lives matter, just not all lives matter equally.
I do know that to God all lives really do matter equally. He died to prove that.
I might have titled this study "The Case for Grace," because Paul gives his proof of the need for grace. "I do not set aside the grace of God for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain" (Galatians 2:21). And then he writes, "O foolish Galatians!" (Galatians 3:1); a wonderful statement!… Read More
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