Today I feel embarrassed to be identified as an evangelical. I was raised in an evangelical, in a conservative church. For generations, my family has been part of the evangelical movement. I have met Jesus and he has changed my life--what evangelicals usually call a "born again" experience. But today, I feel embarrassed to be identified with that tradition.
We gladly accept God's forgiveness for our sins. We have committed crimes against the Kingdom of God and against the King of that Kingdom. But we have been given amnesty because of the blood of Jesus.
We look forward to the day when we will join billions of others in heaven. When we get there, we will know nothing of its language (in spite of the claim of pentecostals and charismatics that they already speak a heavenly language). We will not know heaven's social structure. We will not know anything of how it operates. Even the glimpses that the apostle John gives us in the Revelation remain difficult for us to understand and leave us wondering what heaven will be like. Still, we anticipate when we will get there. But when we arrive, we will be newcomers. And we will get there in spite of the fact that we have committed crimes against the very kingdom to which we aspire. We will be welcomed in heaven because we have been given amnesty through the blood of Christ.
Occasionally on the news, we see instances of followers of Christ who forgive their attackers. We think to ourselves, "What a wonderful example of the forgiveness of Christ." That forgiveness is called amnesty. Whether the crime involves mass murder, such as the Amish tragedy, or robbery or assault, we see followers of Christ forgiving their offenders. They grant amnesty to the wrongdoers.
In doing so, we follow the example of Christ. From the cross, while he hung in agony, our Lord Jesus Christ granted amnesty to his persecutors. Around the world today, thousands of Christ's followers sit in prison experiencing torture for their faith. But they forgive--they grant amnesty--to their persecutors. This forgiveness, this amnesty, has become a hallmark of the followers of Christ.
But yesterday, millions of people who claim the name of Jesus, rose up en masse to demand of their senators that the proposed bill on immigration reform be defeated. These people who gladly accept the amnesty Jesus offers refused to offer that amnesty to people who are of another culture and ethnicity--even though the bill did not offer true amnesty.
True amnesty would have given these undocumented immigrants a free pass. But this bill included penalties to be paid and certain legal steps to be followed. Still people who have been forgiven by God through Christ refused to offer any access to a resolution of their undocumented status.
Didn't Jesus say something about that? At the close of his model prayer, didn't He say something about "If you do not forgive those who have offended you, neither will my Father who is in heaven forgive you of your sins"? We have sinned against the laws of the King of the Universe and have received amnesty. These undocumented workers have sinned only against the laws of our finite country. Can't they receive at least some mercy?
I feel embarrassed to be identified with a group who refuses to offer even a measure of mercy when they/we have received such infinite measures of mercy and amnesty from our Lord and Savior.
What do you think?
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- Currently, I am posting my "musings on Ephesians." This was a 6 1/2 month process of allowing Paul's letter to Ephesus to speak to me about my situations. Some of it gets rather personal. But hopefully it can help you too.
5 comments:
It seems to me that the term 'Evangelical' has outlived its usefulness in most contexts. Rather than speaking to its historical roots in Wesley, Edwards, Whitefield, Asbury and others, and its emphasis on a pietistic, personal sense of conversion and relationship with God, a quasi-sola scriptura orientation to faith, and the importance of sharing that faith/converting others; evangelical now generally connotes a particular religious and political conservatism that is synonymous with the Christian right. That's unfortunate because I know you and many others I know who would otherwise identify themselves as evangelical aren't so simply categorized. The major spokespeople and sentiment of these 'evangelicals' is hard for me to identify with as even Christian often - as it seems may be the case for you, also.
Perhaps it is the end result of American ambition infecting our religious culture, where our selfish, insular and short-sighted (as I see it) tendencies are then justified by our faith communities.
This has also brought to mind a recent sermon on Christian Unity I read from a pastor friend in Boise.
Thank you for this perspective. I will check out the Boise sermon later (busy today).
BUT, you did not say anything about the amnesty question!
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Well, simply put I was in favor of the bill as at least moving in the right direction. And I agree with you, there is a real connection between a recognition of our own 'amnesty' and being willing to grant the same (in our own human ways) to those we encounter, undeserving or otherwise. That's not to say there shouldn't ever be consequences. Hardly. Christ's eternal wounds are evidence of that. Rather, when mercy is sought in earnest we must think long and hard about refusing. Grace freely given comes from only one source - God the Father. May we only seek to imitate what we behold in Him through Christ and obtain to the promise of salvation.
Well said.
It is oddly interesting and rather disconcerting to see the hardness of heart that has become so clear in some Christians with regard to this issue. It brings me great sadness and frustration as I look to my future that is filled with working with people who are caught in this dreadful cycle. I pray that a Christ-filled solution will be found. -Sara
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