Christian in America: Election Day 2018 Edition

Believing that Jesus is the Christ and trying to live the way he lives means something in America now.

First, it means Jesus is Lord. That’s an ancient saying. Roman citizens and subjects said it about Caesar long before Jesus was on the scene. Back in those days, the “lord” was the person who protected and provided for the people. They gave him credit when they were doing well and feeling safe.

The first Christians got into trouble because they stopped saying “Caesar is lord” and started saying “Jesus is Lord!” Even though they got into trouble, they kept saying it anyway. They believed that, since Jesus was a greater protector and provider than Caesar, that Jesus alone deserved the title of “Lord.” They believed that only Jesus deserved their pledge of allegiance.

If we are believers that Jesus is Lord–the only protector and provider we need–then we have a different relationship with our American government. We must not see it as the source of our protection and well-being. We must not look to government to calm our fears or meet our needs. We must not allow people in government to try to scare us into pledging allegiance to them. Jesus himself said it: We can only have one Lord (commander-in-chief/president/protector/provider). Christians choose Jesus and Jesus is enough.

When we believe that Jesus alone is Lord, we choose to live our lives like he lives his life.

The most important thing to know about that life is that Jesus gives it willingly for those who do not ask for it or even deserve it. We who apprentice ourselves to Jesus will do the same.

How?

Jesus said the mark that sets his people apart from everyone else is that we are the most liberal lovers of human beings. We love our enemies. How? We clothe and feed them. We embrace and welcome them. We listen to them with empathy and grace. We go out of our way to be close to them. We treat them as old friends.

The story of the ancient church of Christ is the story of people trying to figure out enemy love. What started as a sect of Judaism quickly spread to non-Jews. Suddenly, bitter enemies were in close quarters. Conflict and hardship followed, but they kept trying to figure out a way to be together. Why? Because, they knew that to give up on each other meant giving up on Jesus. We know we are living like Jesus when we are loving our enemies. The Christian lifestyle is simply this: Going out of our way to make peace and spread love–even to those who hate us.

For this reason, Christians in America must not belong to political parties. To be a follower of Jesus Christ–which requires total allegiance to Jesus alone and total commitment to active love of enemies–we cannot be part of any association or organization that glorifies itself and puts others down. We must be independent so we are free to love everyone and so that everyone knows they can count on our love. Political parties in America are anti-Christ by their very nature and practice. We must not belong to them.

This extends to politicians, who we are to treat as our employees only. If we believe that Jesus is Lord, we must not regard any man or woman as a protector, provider, or savior. We must not regard any politician as our leader or master; Jesus is our only one. Any politician who demands that we put our faith and hope in her or him is to be regarded as anti-Christ.

We must take ourselves out of the accusations, arguments, and controversies that distract us from what Jesus put us here to do. People who stir up anger and conflict are practicing “divide and conquer.” Our job here is to make peace.

Jesus calls us to be the conscience of our nation; not its judges and “morality police.” Out of real love for everyone, we ask gentle questions that invite our neighbors to examine themselves in a “safe space.” The purpose of a conscience is always to love people into positive change, never to accuse or shame. The word “satan” literally means “accuser” or “prosecutor.” When we play “morality cop,” accusing and pointing fingers, we are no longer Christlike; we are satanic.

Finally, we belong to a community of faith, hope, and love. Jesus’s church is to show the world what heaven looks like on earth. In the Book of Acts, the church looks like a community of people who are taking care of each other and taking care of their neighbors. They clothed, fed, healed, and took others into their homes. The people who received this care were not friends; they were enemies. This was the sign to everyone that Jesus was a better Lord than Caesar and the kingdom of God a better nation than Rome.

Jesus, and only Jesus, is Lord. He is our one and only protector and provider. He is our one and only master. We pledge allegiance to Jesus and Jesus alone.

We will not belong to anyone but him. We will be part of nothing that keeps us from loving our enemies and making peace. We will be part of nothing that distracts us from being conscientious and taking care of others–especially those who are against us or unlike us.

We can do this because we believe that no power on earth can stop the love of God from reaching us–even in our own graves and our own sins.

We believe this, so we will live like it right here and now in America.