A HUMBLE REFLECTION

 

Luke 12:48b (NIV)
From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.

               My level of anxiety and concern has risen to new levels. Each day, as I look at the current news, my heart sinks farther. As a country and as a society we have lost our moorings and we are drifting into dangerous territory.

               I had the privilege of traveling to Ukraine sixteen times, encouraging the church there and sharing the love of Jesus with the Ukrainian people. The war in Ukraine has been a genuine heart break for me and many others. Recent events have caused me to despair over the course we are taking in regards to Ukraine and its people.

               In my daily devotions, I have been working my way through Jeremiah. Each day, as I read, I can see the parallels between the people of Israel and Judah and our own nation. We are guilty of worshipping false gods, of rejecting God’s moral and ethical law, and of seeking our benefit over the benefit of others. As a church in America, we have become complacent and complicit. It is time for some honest and humble reflection.

               I am not one who casts stones at the church in America. We have had many failures, but we also have many genuinely committed believers who are quietly, faithfully living out their faith. Bashing “the church” is not helpful or constructive. But honestly taking stock of where we are and where we need to go is essential. Our hope is not in a particular political system or party, but in the truth and the power of the Gospel. The church has always been its weakest when it has closely aligned itself with those in political power. It has been its strongest when it has lived out its faith in practical ways, independent of political affiliation.

               The people of Isreal and Judah, in the days of Jeremiah, went through the outward actions of their religion, but their hearts were not in the right place. They assumed that as long as they kept up the façade of following God they would be blessed. That was not the way God saw it. In one place God made this statement: they honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. There are many in our country who are giving lip service to God, but their hearts are far from Him.

               When Solomon was dedicating the Temple in Jerusalem, God made a promise to him.

2 Chronicles 7:11-16 (NIV)
 When Solomon had finished the temple of the LORD and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the LORD and in his own palace, the LORD appeared to him at night and said: "I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices.
"When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.

               We no longer worship at the Temple in Jerusalem, but we still worship at God’s Temple, His church. Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (NIV) How we live our daily lives is a reflection of our commitment to God. We honor God’s temple when we live according to his word. We dishonor God’s temple when we give in to the ways of the world. And so, just as God gave Solomon a pathway for renewal for his nation, so God has given us a pathway to renewal for our nation. If we will honestly repent of our own failures and seek Him with sincere hearts, He will heal own land.

               We have been blessed to live in a country that has allowed God’s church to flourish. We have taken this privilege for granted. We have allowed ourselves to but caught up in political squabbles and combatting ideologies. Instead of taking our cues from God’s word, we have listened too much to loud, political voices. Following God’s word will not make us popular or powerful in people’s eyes, but it will make us right in God’s eyes.

               There is a path open to us of grace, compassion, and mercy. It is not the path of compromise with sin nor is it the path of legalistic self-righteousness. It is the path that Jesus walked. He never condoned sin, yet offered grace to the sinner. He called for justice, but also offered mercy. Is it possible for us to find this path again?

               We, as a nation and as a church, have been given much. Because God has entrusted us with much, He also requires much from us. As a nation and as a church we have the responsibility to steward what God has given us for His glory and for the benefit of others. Turning inward and focusing only on our needs and wants is not a part of God’s plan for us.

               Each of us needs to begin by humbling ourselves before God, asking for His forgiveness, and asking for wisdom and discernment to navigate the journey before us. Then we need to pray that God would humble our leaders and give them wisdom and discernment to lead us in the way God would have us to go.

Philippians 2:3-4 (NIV)
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.