Something happened last week that disturbed me deeply, and for the last several days I have wrestled with whether or not I should write about it in my ponderings. So, I have reflected… I have prayed… and ultimately decided that I should address it… so here goes…
A week ago today, while attending a political rally, Vice President Kamala Harris was talking about how every woman deserves the right to an abortion if she so chooses. Two Christian college students in attendance protested what she was saying by shouting out, “Christ is King!” and “Jesus is Lord!” Stopping in the middle of her speech, Vice President Harris said, “Oh, you guys are at the wrong rally!” The crowd in attendance roared their approval of her rebuttal as she gloated in their reaction.
Please understand… and I hope you will believe me… I am not attempting to make a political statement as I ponder what took place at that rally — hence the aforementioned hesitation. Who you vote for in an election is between you and God and no one else. I also know that in the moment… when you are caught off guard… things can come out of your mouth that you wish never had. It has surely happened to me, and perhaps that was the case with her. I am not taking a shot at the Madam Vice President, but I realized this week that if a well-known athlete, or a famous celebrity, or a successful musician — or anyone else of note had said such a thing, that I would probably address it.
It disturbed me so deeply because I believe in that moment we saw a snapshot of where culture is today. Jesus is less and less welcomed in our world and sadly in our country too. While our country was founded upon Christian principles, today many of those principles are beyond marginalized. Was Vice President Harris’ comment an attempt at humor or a microcosm of a cultural shift away from Christian principles? Perhaps it was a little of both. Political attempts at appealing to the evangelical community are largely disingenuous as many of us understand, but to state so plainly that Jesus has no place somewhere… I believe that is sadly where we are in society today — she just said out loud what so many people think.
Jesus wasn’t even accepted by his own people, and the religious leaders of his day went out of their way to reject him, shouting “Crucify him!” before Pilate. In John 15 Jesus said, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” (John 15:18) Jesus is no stranger to being unwelcomed. Today, Christians must navigate a culture that no longer defaults to Judeo-Christian principles, but instead, we have descended to the reality of “everyone did what was right in his own eyes. (Judges 17:6)
I believe Jesus’ teaching on End Times warns us not to expect the World to suddenly start welcoming the presence of Jesus, (MT 24) so it is important toda for Christians to live holy lives. Living a life set apart for God and striving to honor him is challenging today. Peter wrote, “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” (1 Peter 2:12) How do Christians push back on an unbiblical culture? According to Peter we live good lives. We seek to be people who cannot be accused of being hypocritical as we seek to do good things that bring glory to God. We seek to live as Jesus lived. Jesus might not be welcomed in public schools, the college campus, modern social issues or even the government, and while that is sad… well… I guess it really shouldn’t surprise us.
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