Lobbyist of Love

This morning I am praying for peace in this nation and in the world. Rumors have been circulating more and more of our nation heading back into a cultural war and I pray that this does not happen again. I believe that the polarization of positions can destroy creativity and love. A vs. B scenarios have pitted brother against brother in an unending battle of moral superiority. With contributors on both sides bring slanderous remarks towards the other and waging a war that is not grounded on Biblical community and love. The words of Paul resound in my ear that there is neither, "Jew nor Greek" and I think we need to remember that there is neither "Republican nor Democrat". Pray that we don't become known as Democrat nor Republican. Pray that we be known for our love and compassion for others that exudes from deep inside us where there is rest and confidence to know that we have a love that surpasses all understanding. It is a love that shows a man from a small town in the Middle East who when the authorities came to kill him, he healed a man's ear. I don't believe that we are all going to believe the same things and I don't think that we have to. But hostility towards one's neighbors is the very context that Paul urges the church to stay away from. It is the very nature of hell to divide us. America has fallen prey to division and the church has married itself to the state, and as Claiborne writes, "This love affair is killing the church's imagination". We no longer are looking for transformative peace and bringing God's kingdom to earth. There is a fear that God's kingdom may mean that I must separate myself from the riches of power and put on the rags of humility; picking up my cross and following heart after God.

We must come to a point where we need to ask ourselves, "Are we happy living in old creation?" For many, facing the demons of old creation is hard because old creation has made us fat. But isn't new creation more inspiring? Why is it that when we hear stories of compassion being shown to those who are living on the margins of old creation, that we pause and find a resonance with this transformative love? Last night, my wife and I watched a preview for a movie that caused emotion for me just from the preview alone, a story of a journalist who befriends a homeless man. Certainly it is easier for us to watch a movie or read a story about unconditional love, but what about you and me? It isn't enough to watch a movie about love; it is now time for us to see past the political lines of demarcation and see a brother or sister who needs to be shown this same love. If this love lives inside us, than we need to be ready give it away liberally and without reservation. After all, isn't that what happened to us while we were still sinners?

I remember the story of the Israelites complaining to Moses when he led them out of Egypt. The Israelites said that they were better off in Egypt in bondage. The task had become too hard for them. The church has been called to come out from among the state and be separate. Biblical scholars have said that this "coming out from" is a sexual intercourse reference between a man and a woman. It is strong language that shows the union between the church and the state. The church by all intensive purposes has in recent years been so closely linked to the state. Maybe it was out of her love for power or maybe it was political manipulation. Regardless, the mandate is clear and the consequences have already been seen of this unholy fornication. We must divorce and cut off this union. The journey is arduous and long and it may mean that we will be in the desert for awhile, but there is the Promise Land and it is good.

So Sean Hanity, get ready because her comes some love headed your way.

And Hilary Clinton, get ready because you are next.

Pray that the church is the first to become bipartisan. Pray that we are the first to say that love is here and love is coming. We need to be those who are the lobbyist of love teaching old creation that she is broken and new creation is here. Hope has become a very popular word for one political candidate. It is perhaps a great move for it embodies the very essence that brings life to every person. Hope is how each one of us can get out of bed in the morning. It is the essence that causes a single mother to press on at her two full-time jobs. Each one of us must have hope to carry on in life. But if we are to have hope in any entity may the church show the history of hope and its destination. Hope begins with the church saying that America is a golden calf and her promises are broken. And Hope's destination is with those who follow God displaying that Hope is risen and breathing.

Jesus taught us to turn the other cheek; to walk the extra mile; and to give our clothes away to demonstrate love and the greed of those who persecute. He not only taught us our response to the authorities, but he demonstrated it with his own journey to the cross. If we are in a cultural war then pray that we desire to be the ones who lay down our life for those who want to destroy us in a demonstration of love like our God.