political perspective

About a month ago I could not get enough of the political scene. I watched nearly every keynote speech from both the Democratic and Republican Conventions. And that is a big accomplishment for a guy who pretty much loathes politics.

With only two weeks left before the election, it is safe to say the loathing has come back with a vengeance. I watched the first of the four debates from beginning to end. The last two I have only had the time and energy to catch a few minutes here and there. Regardless, I am tired of all the talking, finger pointing, stupid commercials, and pretend sportsmanship from the candidates. If I had my way, I would move the election up to tomorrow just to get the whole thing behind us.

But two statements (one by each candidate) stood out from all the questions not being answered during last night's debate. They are designed to stress America's global significance, but actually reveal a great deal more about our nation's self-idolatry.

First, the President referred to America as "the only indispensable nation." Is America really absolutely necessary/needful/essential/imperative? I would say no. Are we important for what happens globally? Absolutely. But that does not make us indispensable. History is filled examples of such nations, and each eventually fades to the background or out of the picture altogether (do Egypt, Babylon, Assyria, Rome, or Greece sound familiar?).

From a biblical perspective, only one nation stands as the only the indispensable nation on earth. The Church is the only absolutely necessary "nation" on earth. This sounds arrogant, but it is actually a very humbling reality, because it has nothing to do the nature of the people included. God has ordained His Church to be the means by which the gospel message of Jesus Christ goes forth to the ends of the earth (Colossians 1). And He is the one who works in and through it by the power of His Spirit. While God could technically accomplish His goal without the Church, the entire plan of redemption involves the use of His people to bring Christ to the nations (Ephesians 1; 1 Peter 2). The Church is the means by which all the earth will be filled with the glory of God. America cannot and will never serve this purpose. It is completely and entirely of this world. The Church, as both physical and spiritual, can and will. It is the bride of Christ, bought with His blood, that will one day be reunited with her Groom.

After the President's remarks, the Governor called America "the hope of the earth." Is America really the earth's hope for greater things? Again, I would say no. Has America done many good things over the course of her young history? Absolutely. But doing good is not synonymous with hope. Because history also tells us that for all the good America has done, they have also been guilty more than a fair share of damage.

Again from a biblical perspective, there is only one hope for the earth. And thankfully it is not a flawed nation governed by flawed men and women. It is the perfect Son of God. It is Jesus Christ. Christ is the hope for the pain, suffering, and loss dominating this world. Christ is the hope for true and lasting peace (Revelation 21). Christ is the hope for overcoming sin and death through His own life, death, and resurrection (Colossians 1). No nation, individual, or government system can fill the role Christ already fills. They will ultimately fail again and again.

All this serves to say, politics and systems of government must never be viewed as the solution to the problems of this world. They are effective means to appeasing some of the problems, but they will never do away with them altogether. This does not mean abstaining from politics and government. They have been ordained by God to administer justice and govern. They can be forces of good in a broken world. But they can never promise what Christ promises for the present and future.

long days

The week is not even three days old, and it already has been long. It is safe to say my holdout against drinking coffee in the morning might break for at least the next couple of days.

On Saturday night I stayed in after a long day of coaching. I pulled out my old friend, mr. guitar, for my means of rest and relaxation. And I went to the RUF online hymnal to hit up some of the classics.

I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say was the song I lingered on the longest. I was unable to simply strike up playing through it. I needed to hear it, digest it, and then finally sing through it. It spoke directly to my week prior as well as the coming weeks looming on the horizon.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
"Come unto me and rest;
Lay down, O weary one lay down,
Your head upon My breast."
I came to Jesus as I was,
So weary, worn, and sad;
I found in Him my resting place,
And He has made me glad.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
"Behold I freely give
The living water; thirsty one,
Stoop down and drink, and live."
I came to Jesus, and I drank
From that life-giving stream
My thirst was quenched, my soul revived,
And now I live in Him.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
"I am this dark world's light;
Look unto Me, thy morn shall rise,
And all thy days be bright."
I looked to Jesus and I found
In Him my star, my sun;
And in that light of life I'll walk
'Til pilgrim days are done.

And then last night, I read Matthew 11:28-30.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.

Safe to say on both nights rest and sleep found me.

Sunday School answers

The following excerpts come from The Church by Edmund Clowney which is one of my required readings for my Doctrine of the Church class.

...[he] sought to correct the one-sided approach of traditional Christian nurture...however most evangelical churches had abandoned the view of Christian education as indoctrination. The pendulum had swung far from arid intellectualism.

...The threat to Christian nurture now comes from the other extreme: the loss of ordered instruction in the Word of God.

Traditional 'Sunday School' moralism remains a problem, however, even in churches committed to evangelism. Teaching often consists in admonitions to be good, offered to restless children who already know the rules. The gospel is good news because Jesus Christ has the power to save and to renew. Only a Christ-centered message is a life-changing message. This is not to say that Christians have no need of instruction in the Ten Commandments.

...Against the climate of our age, children need to learn that sex must be pure before God, and not simply safe, in order to be OK. But to know the Bible's morality does not in itself bring either repentance or new life. To change lives, the commandments must be heard as God's voice, spoken in God's plan to point to Calvary.

...Nurture is rooted in our new position in Christ. Without hope there cannot be growth; without a new identity there is nothing to hope for.

I found myself nodding a lot while reading this.

Too often Christian growth is made parallel to Christian morality. As a result, the Bible is taught primarily as a book of moral teaching. The stories are gleaned for lessons learned promoting morality. Jesus and the apostles sound more like philosophers and philanthropists than the Son of God and Spirit-inspired writers, respectively.

Church members, children in particular, end up viewing the Bible as merely a list of do's and don'ts instead of the self-revelation of the Triune God who is pleased to make His glory known everywhere. This makes the faith depressing and burdensome, which stands contrary to what Christ promised.

As Clowney writes, Christian growth needs to be rooted in the believer's position in Christ. It is the only place where growth actually happens. Only we know who we are in Christ are we not only motivated, but empowered to live lives in line with God's Word and the example of Christ.