Gun control in the kingdom of God

April 22, 2013 in Being Disciples, Kingdom of God with 2 Comments

As I write this first sentence of a blog post titled “Gun control and the kingdom of God,” I realize it will be a post with more questions than answers.

Before I begin, a disclaimer is appropriate. This is an incredibly emotional topic. I have been surprised in the last few months just how emotional people get about the “right” to own guns, and I have been shocked at how passionate I have become about this issue. I have also been surprised at how I disagree with the majority of my brothers and sisters in Christ about gun control. I am in favor of greater gun control, specifically measures like universal background checks. Again, I have been surprised at how passionate I have become. This issue has been a constant reminder of the wisdom of 2 Timothy 2:23.

I would love to invite comments on this post. We don’t usually do a lot of comments here. I am interested to hear what you think, but let’s keep it civil.  I also want to stay away from the political discourse. This post is not interested in what the framers of the constitution intended in the second amendment, why you believe background checks are the first step in the liberal government disarming the people, or why the government shouldn’t impede our rights in any way. While our thinking cannot be segregated into distinctly political and spiritual areas, it is the spiritual component of this issue that should influence our political activism, not the other way around.

Jesus’ mission, the reason for his incarnation, his death, resurrection and ascension, is to initiate and invite us into the kingdom of God. This means the kingdom is available to us here and now. The call of Christ is to follow him and join him in the kingdom life. With this as our starting point, I want to ask a few questions about how we should approach the issue of gun control with a kingdom mindset.

  • Where do guns fit into Jesus’ command to turn the other cheek and love our enemies? (Matthew 5:38-42)
  • How are our personal rights affected by entering into a kingdom marked by personal sacrifice? (Luke 14:25-27)

I don’t have the answers to these questions. I have thoughts, and I am sure you do as well. I would love to hear them.

Childlike questions, Evangelical culture and growing in faith

April 15, 2013 in Being Disciples, Family Life with 0 Comments

C: Daddy, when we go to heaven, will we come back?
Me: Kind of, buddy. God said in the end he will recreate the world. All of heaven will come down to earth and we will get to live in the new heaven and earth with him.
 
C: Will we have a house there?
Me: We will. Jesus said God is preparing a place for us.
 
C: Will our house be close to church?
Me: Well, we won’t actually go to church then. Every moment of every day will be like church because we will be with God all the time.
 
C: Does God have to leave someone to be with us?
Me: Uh… wow. That’s a great question buddy. One of the cool things about God is that he can be everywhere with all people at the same time. It’s called his omnipresence.”

 

I love my son. He is a bright and inquisitive little guy. Like any three-year-old, he asks a ton of questions, and I love when he asks spiritual questions. It makes my heart glad to share these things with him. But this particular conversation got me thinking. Why don’t I ask more questions?

photo courtesy of theunquietlibrarian via Creative Commons

photo courtesy of theunquietlibrarian via Creative Commons

It’s uncomfortable to admit I am often too worried about my image to ask a question. Asking a question can be a humbling act. It is an admission that I do not know something, and too often, I try to uphold an illusion that I am more knowledgeable than I really am.

What is most disappointing is my shortcoming includes spiritual questions, and I am not alone. Somewhere along the way, our Evangelical culture began to frown upon asking questions. As good Evangelicals, we are expected to have our faith and theology all buttoned up. We may be exempt from this expectation for a short time after our confession of faith, but we will learn quickly that questions are out of bounds.

Asking questions can reveal personal doubts. And in a culture that raises faith above all things (perhaps even higher than actually following Jesus), doubt is about as unforgivable a sin as there is.  Of course, doubt is not really an unforgivable sin.  I love what Willard has to say about doubt. “Doubt is a good thing… Until you have your answers in response to a doubt, you don’t have a bucket to hold your answer in. It’s the doubt that gives you a place to receive your answer.”

We have also seen too many Christian teachers ridicule people with different theological opinions. Typically, the theology in question isn’t even unorthodox. These men (I’ve never seen a woman pastor do this.) are mocking brothers and sisters who hold different opinions on debatable topics such as apostolic gifts or eternal security. But even when addressing false doctrine, is ridicule the best course of action? Perhaps we would create a culture more open to questions if we acknowledged theology as a tricky business and chose to teach rather than making jokes at another’s expense for a cheap laugh.

Questions are am important part of the development of our faith. Questions, whether born from doubt or theological inquiry allow us to learn and to grow. They allow us to lean into community, the community around us and the great community of saints who have gone before us. I for one am going to choose to ask more questions, and be more accepting of those asking questions. Will you join me?

Fragile hope

April 9, 2013 in Being Disciples with 0 Comments

Photo courtesy of Scarlett Clay via http://bluepurpleandscarlett.com/

Photo courtesy of Scarlett Clay
via http://bluepurpleandscarlett.com/

Hope is a fragile thing. It can’t seem to help being broken and unmet from time to time. Riding hope can be like sitting in a rowboat with no oars. Will I land gently on a white sand beach, or will the waves smash me against the rocks?

My wife and I have experienced the waves of hope a number of times in recent years. I spent six months unemployed hoping to find a new job. Twice we walked the pregnancy revolving door. “This month? No. This month? No. This month? No.” And now we are riding the rollercoaster of buying a home.

Three times, we have been excited about a home. We dreamt about remodeling “The Haman House” to our own liking before we discovered it needed far more work than we could afford. Then we became excited about the neighborhood of “Leatherleaf Court.” It was close to friends, in a great neighborhood with amazing schools and a mere ten-minute walk to church. But after a ton of research and personal negotiation (they didn’t want to use a realtor), we couldn’t agree on a price. We were crushed. Then came “The Chestnut House.” It’s in the same great neighborhood and has had more work done. It’s a little further from church, but we can walk to a friend’s house.

When our expectations have already been dashed twice, how should we handle this one? Should we jump back in with both feet and imagine ourselves in the home? Should we imagine sitting on the deck watching the boys run in the yard and dream about walking to DQ as a family? Or should we protect ourselves from expectations? Should we hold it at arms length, acknowledging it as a fine home for our family, but refuse to dream?

When we engage hope, there is risk. If we have certainty, hope is unnecessary. Hope can only exist if there is a chance our hopes go unmet. This poses a problem for some of us. We have all experienced broken dreams, things far more devastating than the loss of a potential home. There is a tremendous temptation when we experience tragedy to shut down our hearts, to keep hope at bay and protect ourselves from the possibility hope being destroyed.

Too often, I choose to guard my heart from hope. I am ashamed to admit I live much of my life motivated by fear, but fear is a wicked master. Fear destroys hope. Fear and hope cannot coexist. So, we have a choice. We can cling to fear and allow it to slowly choke out the hope in our lives, or we can choose hope. We can decide to bring our hearts with us on the journey. Will our hope be crushed from time to time? It will. Will it be hard, and will it hurt? Yes. But will it be worth it? Absolutely.

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