I guess I’ve given up. I know I am not as fiery a preacher as I once was. I know that I am not as political as I used to be. Some people want me to be more forthright about the political issues of the day. Other people like me to avoid anything that touches on politics. I don’t want to tell people how to vote, though. I’ve given up. I’ve given up on believing that our political structures will solve the problems we face.
I still
believe sin is sin. I have not given up on God’s Word or Christ’s call for
repentance. I might not punch you in the nose with the Law, but I speak the
truth in love. I believe what God teaches us in His Word is authoritative. What
He calls immoral is immoral. What he declares an abomination is an abomination.
But when He says to love our neighbor, He means that too. In general, love
doesn’t punch neighbors in the nose. Indeed, Jesus bears with sinners, suffers
and dies for them, and lives for them.
I have also
given up on changing people. In twenty-five years of ministries, I’ve never
changed a person’s mind. God be praised that there have been times when the
Holy Spirit worked through my preaching and teaching to reach someone. I am
thankful for times when the presentation of His Word gave people pause, called
them to repentance, and the Word even changed them. I have rejoiced at the
opportunity to proclaim Jesus’ forgiveness to people who have felt the curse of
sin. I have grieved in confessions that disclosed that previous confessions of
the same sin had only led to judgment and shaming.
I have also sorrowfully watched people
reject God’s Word. Usually, they reject the idea that God’s Word is authoritative
over them. After all, we have advanced so far since the times of Abraham,
David, and even Jesus. They ask, “How can they speak to our modern lives?” Some
even want to say that Jesus’ forgiveness negates the need for repentance, for
genuine change in one’s life. Passages like Romans 6:1-2 are ignored when they
ask, “What should we say then? Should we continue to sin so that grace may
abound? Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it?”
Even more sorrowful is when people
reject the message that Jesus’ forgiveness is for them. This is usually couched
in the idea that they are good and do not need forgiveness. It is as though
they think their sins are minor matters that do not require actual forgiveness.
Occasionally, however, I have met someone who feels that what he or she has
done is so bad that Christ cannot forgive them.
I am beginning to wonder about
Jeremiah. Do you remember him? He was “The Weeping Prophet.” He wept because he
was sent to Israel to proclaim the nation’s demise. They would go into exile. God
had decided, and the verdict would not change. He was as an iron wall among the
people, denouncing their sin and calling them to repentance. Yet he held out a
message of hope to God’s people. God had plans for them, plans of hope and a
future. They would go into captivity, but God would bring them back. The LORD’s
righteousness would prevail.
The LORD’s righteousness has
prevailed. Christ has come. The Son of God laid down his life for sinners on
the cross. He has given us a new righteousness, one that is not our own. Incredibly,
He gives us His righteousness. He has also given us a new life so that we might
live for righteousness. Not only that, but He has promised us a resurrection
like His own.
This new reality changes the
Christian’s relationship to the world. It encourages us to give up. We can give
up our need to control the future. We can let loose our designs to change people.
We can even be at peace when kingdoms totter, and nations run headlong into
immorality and ruin. We are aliens and strangers here. This world is not our
home.
It is a sad reality, but justice
and righteousness will not be established on the earth until Jesus comes again.
Our efforts will fall short. Indeed, many of the world’s solutions will stray
far from anything that resembles God’s righteousness. However, Jesus will come
again.
Jesus will come again.
That is where I am placing my hope during
difficult days. Much like Jeremiah, I am living in my moment and seeking to be
faithful in my time – sometimes even with weeping. My eyes, however, are
looking beyond for Jesus’ return. My heart is set on His promises.
Please do not hear what I am not
saying. I have given up on my ability to change the hearts and minds of people
around me. I have complete faith in the Holy Spirit’s ability to do so. I have
given up on our politicians’ ability to bring about justice. I believe loving
our neighbors can improve our communities, even our nations. I have given up
finding perfect justice and peace in this life. I believe that Jesus will
return and bring His salvation to completion. I rejoice and am glad that He has
promised, and He will do it.
Perhaps it is time to embrace the
identity that Jeremiah placed on Israel. They were to be exiles. Life in this
world can feel a lot like exile. Between our personal sins and the sins of our
community, there is more than enough separation and pain to cause us to long
for a better and promised home. They lived under a foreign power and so do we,
for none of the governments of this world conform fully to God’s will. And they
were called to pray and work for the benefit of their exilic home. This, too,
is part of our desire as we seek to share the love of Jesus and His salvation
with our neighbors.
For a long time now Christianity
has stood at the center of many cultures and has strongly influenced the world.
Here in the United States, it seems that influence is waning. Elsewhere, it is
waxing and doing beautiful work. Yet Christ has promised that His Word will not
fail. Difficult days are meant to teach us to trust God’s promises.
It may be that it is time for we
Christians who have been so comfortable in the United States to suffer, to be
maligned, to be marginalized. If it is, let us do so with hope. Let us cling to
Jesus’ promises and pray for the strength to walk in His ways. Let us hold
forth His Word, calling people to repentance and extending His promise of
salvation. Let us walk by faith.
Will this earn our salvation? No.
That has already been won. Instead, because we believe, we live. Because we
have been loved, we love. Because we have Christ’s salvation – it was delivered
to you in baptism! – we have hope and a future.
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