Reject

Reject. It's a powerful word that is used commonly to describe an outcast or the act of dismissing something. Interestingly, both uses of the word apply to Jesus. He was rejected by the religious leaders and he rejected the common interpretations of doing life God's way. Unfortunately, what was status quo religious activity isn't so different from that of today's world. This is really bad considering Christ did not just start a fashion trend, but a whole new way of doing life; yet humans seem to have a talent for turning everything into a mediocre counterfeit.


Image source: DoctorChibi - DeviantArt

Sometimes I wish it was as simple as to say XYZ is the problem, and once we fix that we can have our perfect little following of Christ and His teachings. Truth is that there is not one problem plaguing the Church. I can point out issues I see, but they're only a symptom of larger issues. Ultimately, the only cure for the disease is to put Christ back in the name of Christian. It's for this reason that I must point out something really bothersome about Christianity today (and no, I'm not talking about the magazine).


Image Source: cwgodzilla - Deviant Art

Let's face it, neither side really has the answer. We may feel passionate about specific issues which coincide incidentally with what one politician or political group purports to care about, but in the end there's so much baggage that has to go along with it. Let me use the hot topic of abortion as an example. All Christians, left and right, agree that murder is wrong. We also agree killing babies is bad, but the question comes up whether a fetus is actually baby. The Christian Right says that life starts at conception while Christian Left says it is up to the woman to decide what to do with her body. If it was really this simple, I wouldn't be writing this blog entry. The conservatives picket clinics where abortion procedures are conducted, and on the extremist end there have been bombings and murder; the very thing they supposedly want to stop. The liberals see the abortion issue as a moral decision which should be strictly up to the woman and that her right to choose is just as essential as any potential life while rejecting that a few multiplying cells in the womb constitute as being a human life.

What both sides fail to realize is that their views are politically, not Scripturally motivated. Oh, I'm sure it seems like God is ready to strike down every last abortion doctor and their whorish patients, right? Or perhaps those self-righteous Elephants need to get off their high-horse and start worrying about the hundreds of thousands dying daily from preventable causes? I've heard both sides of the argument ad nauseam. What we need to do is get back to this being about Christ, not a personal mission to legislate the government policies to fit our narrow interpretation of Scripture. The Jews at the time of Jesus were expecting political change too, you know. The Messiah they were expecting was going to liberate them from the evil Romans and restore Israel. We know the story, but we fail to apply to our own lives.

Friends, I can't tell you what to do, but I humbly submit to you that allowing your faith and following of Jesus to be manipulated by a political agenda is possibly one of the most damaging things you can do. Christians should not be fighting with each other over the politicized issues that do not concern us. Go back and read that sentence carefully before yelling at me about what concerns us (I'll wait). Things do need to change and there is lot of things wrong all around us, but if we wear political sunglasses, then we'll be unable to see the whole spectrum of problems and what is causing them. There is hope for humanity and the planet, but that hope is in Jesus and not in corrupt politicians waving flags and speaking flashy catchphrases.

With that, I leave you with this video to contemplate:



Reject the status quo and embrace the reject-Jesus.

Peace that surpasses all understanding,
James