I wrote some time ago on the subject that God meets us where we are. That blog article has been among the most read articles on this site since I wrote it. It was heartfelt, part of my own journey of discovery, and I think it resonates with the longing and angst that seems always resident in the human heart. Certainly always in mine.
God stands at the door to our hearts knocking. He doesn’t break the door down, and He won’t continue to knock if we ignore Him. He doesn’t overpower us, and He doesn’t seek to compel us against our will.
Yet, He desires us so much that He left His glory behind to become one of us, to enter into our human, historical space, and to offer Himself up for us – to redeem us – and provide a way for us to connect with Him. He took on human form, and He offered Himself up in a human body to demonstrate His love for us. Amazing!
No one can say that God is not invested in our redemption and in our good. No one can show more love or commitment to another person than to lay down his own life for another, and God did that for us.
Yet, He is unwilling to violate our will to coerce us into relationship with Him or to require us to submit to Him – even if it is for our good. He desires a loving relationship with us. He loves us like a parent loves a child because He “gave birth” to us (knitting us together in our mothers’ wombs (Psalm 139)). His love is unwavering even if we ignore Him and go our own way.
Thus, God meets us where we are. We can go nowhere that God is not present and able to meet us – when we are ready to meet Him.
Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
psalm 139:7-8
God meets us where we are when we are ready and willing to meet Him. He was always there, but we are not always ready or willing. When we get to that “place”, though, God is ever ready to meet us.
Know, however, that “meeting” the God who is always there is not an end; it is just a beginning. It is the beginning of a relationship with your creator. It is just the beginning of God’s good intentions for you.
“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares the Lord….”
Jeremiah 29:11-14a
God’s intentions for you are good – to prosper you and not to arm you. We have trouble sometimes trusting God’s goodness, but this is the essence of faith: for “whoever comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who diligently search for him.” (Hebrews 11:6) His promise for us is so good it is beyond our ability even to imagine! (1 Corinthians 2:9)
Yet, Jesus warns us to count the cost. (Luke 14:28) Why? What cost?
These are important questions that we should ask. There is a catch – a cost – that we need to be aware of: God may meet us where we are, but He doesn’t intend to leave us there.
I became a follower of Jesus in 1979, though I was a wild, untamed stallion when I was first confronted with the Lordship of Christ and verbally submitted to him. I wandered down my own paths in the year that followed, leading me to a breaking point and more complete surrender. (A cycle I have unfortunately repeated more than once.)
Over the following two years, I was about as surrendered to God as I have been my whole life. I was all in – or as all in as I was capable of being at that time, perhaps. During that time, I became a big fan of Keith Green. I even saw him in concert in Des Moines Iowa in 1981 or 1982. He died in a place crash within a year or two after that, and his impact and memory has faded.
When I saw him in concert, though, his radical Christian commitment had been a huge impact on me, and that impact carried with me beyond his death. Thus, my daily reading today recalls to my mind these lyrics by Keith Green:
To obey is better than sacrifice I want more than Sundays and Wednesday nights If you can't come to me every day Then don't bother coming at all
Keith Green was a musical child prodigy who was radically saved by Jesus. He used his great musical talent and platform to become a prophet of sorts to young Christians at the time who wanted an authentic faith.
I was very drawn to a monastic, cloistered life at that age that Keith Green represented, like a modern Essene. The truth is that I had long been drawn to that kind of thing going back to the book, My Side of the Mountain, that I read in grade school (about a boy who leaves his parents to hollow out a summer home in the trunk of dead tree in the Catskills).
That book seeded in me a longing for something authentic and pure. The idea took root in me that I could not find “it” in the bustle of the world. I needed to escape to solitude, self-reflection, and devotion to a simple life.
In a poignant moment in my senior year in college, I faced up to that longing and desire that ran deep in me, and I made a conscious decision to follow Jesus into the messy clamor of human society. Jesus often escaped to the mountains and the wilderness to be alone with God, but he always returned to the highways, and byways, and the public squares where people live.
Still, the Keith Green spirit of uncompromised obedience to Christ and Christ alone left an imprint on me. His prophetic insistence on radical commitment carried me forward in those early years of my journey with Christ.
Now, I find myself some 40+ years down a road that has taken many twists and turns. That road has taken me through long and winding wilderness areas that were darker than I care to dwell on. It has taken me to the other side of those dark times into the light of a new day, more weary and (hopefully) wiser for the experience. I am still following Jesus as best as I can, but I have a slightly different view of Keith Green’s words today. I hope I can give this the nuance it deserves.
Let’s lay politics aside for a moment, and just consider the Word of God. Politics, of course, is the backdrop to this article. A person cannot be completely apolitical, no matter how hard one tries, but political positions shift, evolve and change, while the Word of God is eternal. Therefore, we should put the Word of God first over our political inclinations.
The Word of God existed before God made the universe, and all of creation was made by the Word. (John 1:1-3) God spoke the entire universe into existence (Genesis 1) and made all things by that are seen from what cannot be seen His command. (Hebrews 11:3)
Of course if you are a Christian, you believe that the Word of God became flesh (John 1:14) in Jesus: God with us; God incarnate; God who became man. He proved himself by what he said, by the miracles he did, and by rising from the dead after he was tortured, crucified, and buried.
The Word of God (at least some of it) is preserved in writing for us as it was spoken to and through people who heard God’s voice and responded in faith by preserving it. Jesus, Himself, quoted extensively from the books of what we call the Old Testament as authority for what he said and did. (Interestingly, he never quoted from apocryphal texts.) Jesus, who we believe was God who became man and who rose from the dead, treated those Old Testament writings with great deference – as the word of God.
Jesus quoted Scripture often from Genesis to the Prophets. When Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, he quoted scripture, including Deuteronomy 8:3: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” When Jesus began his ministry, his first public statement and the description of his ministry came from the prophet, Isaiah:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Luke 4:18-19 (which Jesus told the listeners was fulfilled by him that day in their hearing)
After Jesus rose from the dead, he explained how the Scriptures from Genesis through the Prophets were about him. (Luke 24:27) Jesus was both the Word of God through whom God made the universe, and he honored the word of God preserved in the Bible – calling it his daily bread. It defined his purpose; and it informed who he was.
With that set up, my theme today is the Prophets and what they said about how God’s people should act in the world, especially rulers who wield governmental influence and power. Our political views, how we conduct ourselves in politics, and who we champion as our rulers should be informed and driven by God’s Word.
Concerns about “Christian nationalism” have been raised in recent years from the political left. Some people in Christian circles, and specifically conservative Christian circles, have pushed back on those concerns and criticisms. At the same time, however, concerns about Christian nationalism have been voiced from within Christian circles, even from within conservative Christian circles.
The conversation has arisen, perhaps, because of the way that Donald Trump has courted Christians in his campaign to “Make America Great Again”. Many Christian voters have embraced Trump and his campaign slogan.
I am thinking about this in the context of a question raised about Christians being patriotic to John Dickson on a recent episode of the Undeceptions Podcast. (See Question Answer XIII at abut the 42 minute mark.) The person who raised the subject referenced the Bonhoeffer movie, observing that the issues for the church seemed to come when the church stopped thinking what it means to be a Christian and started thinking about what it means to be a German Christian.
The question is, “Should Christians be patriotic?”
Putting the question in terms of patriotism, rather than nationalism, presents a slightly different twist on this conversation. “Christian nationalism” has become a pejorative term, but patriotism is seemingly more neutral and non-pejorative. At the same time, many people accused of Christian nationalism would likely say they are only being patriotic.
So, is patriotism ok for a Christian?
I like the fact that this question was put to John Dickson, an Australian who has no dog in the American political fight. Though he currently teaches at Wheaton College in Illinois, he approaches the issue from outside the roiling turmoil of American politics.
The question was also posed by a non-American listener to the podcast who was concerned about the way patriotism “potentially dehumanizes others and makes them seem lesser because they are not of our race”. He expressed concern about the mistreatment of refugees and others of different background to our own.
The “glaringly obvious” theological view proclaimed by Jesus and the New Testament writers, responds Dickson, is that Christians should view themselves fundamentally as citizens of a kingdom that is not of this earth. (Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” (Jn. 18:36); Paul said, “[O]ur citizenship is in heaven.” (Ph. 3:20); and Peter called Christians “sojourners and exiles” in this world. (1 Pet. 2:11) In my view, that means that none of us have a dog in the earthly political fight – ultimately.
Thus, we should “be shaped by the values of God and not the values of any particular nation”, according to Dickson. He observes that this admonition is everywhere in the teaching of Jesus, beginning with the first public words spoken by Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew, which we call the Sermon on the Mount. He summarizes,
“Everything in the Beatitudes [in the Sermon on the Mount] seems to stand against the nationalistic mindset of dominating others…. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are the merciful; blessed are the peacemakers; blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven [paraphrasing the Beatitudes]. The contrast with the nationalistic spirit of the day couldn’t be more striking.”
JOhn Dickson in Episode 146 of the Undeceptions podcast
Dickson urges us to consider the Beatitudes in light of the Roman domination of the world at the time and the Jewish expectations at that time. These are some song lyrics written in the 2nd Century BC by a Jewish author:
“See, O Lord, and raise up for them their king, the son of David, At the time known only to you, O God, that he may reign over Israel your servant. Gird him with strength, to shatter unrighteous rulers; To purge Jerusalem of the nations that trample her down in destruction; To expel, in wisdom and righteousness, sinners from the inheritance; To smash the sinner’s pride like a potter’s vessel….”
Psalms of Solomon 17:21-23
This Jewish author’s sentiment is full of what we might call nationalistic pride. Contrast that sentiment with the words of Jesus. The meek inheriting the earth seems like a far cry from shattering unrighteous rulers. As John Dickson explains,
“Jesus is demanding that his followers live by the values of the future kingdom over the values of any particular present nation.”
JOhn Dickson in Episode 146 of the Undeceptions podcast
Everywhere Jesus went, he proclaimed the coming of the kingdom of God. (Luke 8:12) The kingdom of God (and being ready for it) is the subject of most of the parables Jesus told. He also announced that the kingdom of God is here now (in our midst), but he sad it is like a mustard seed, the yeast in bread, or a treasure buried in a field.
The kingdom of God now is not (yet) the ruling authority. It is here, but it has not taken over. It is emerging, but it is not yet what it will be. When that time comes, however, everyone will know it; and people need to be ready for it, or they will miss it and be left out.
The message of the kingdom of God – that it has come, but is yet to come fully – is consistent with the instruction of Jesus that the meek will inherit the earth. We do not rule in the kingdom of God presently with might and power; we “rule” by denying ourselves, but taking up our crosses, and by allowing God to rule and work in our hearts to conform us to Himself.
The Jews who expected their Messiah to come at the time of Jesus did not recognize Jesus because they thought he would be their champion, empowering them to shatter the nations that oppressed them and smash the pride of (more) sinful nations. They failed to recognize their own sinfulness and the promise to Abraham, which was to bless all the nations through Abraham’s descendants. (Genesis 12:3, 18:18, 22:18)
They were too full of nationalistic pride to see what God was doing, consistent with the very promise God made to the them – to bless all nations. As we will see, this is a key issue, and it is something we need to contend with, lest we enter into the error of the First Century Jews
Popular trends arise in culturally contingent ways, and those trends often dominate the public mind for a season. Thus, the idea that Christianity borrowed from prior pagan mythology gained notoriety with the rise of New Atheism. The Zeitgeist: The Movie (2007) is a poster child for this popular trend in thinking.
The Zeitgeist movie forces the narrative, ignoring glaring dissimilarities, and manufacturing similarities that don’t really exist. It ignores (or isn’t familiar with) the relevant academic scholarship, but it has been watched well over one million times. We might say that the Zeitgeist movie has become legendary in a truly mythic sense itself.
I will go out on a limb, nevertheless, to say that Christians have shown far too much angst over this trend of claiming that Christianity is similar to prior pagan mythology. There are critical differences, and they are significant, but there are some similarities also. Do the similarities pose a problem for Christianity?
The short answer is, no. In fact, if truth is truth and reality is reality, ancient, pagan attempts at explaining that reality are likely to hit on some metaphysical truth. If they didn’t, I might begin wonder about the nature of reality and our ability to recognize and understand it.
Mythic literature as a genre is an attempt to provide some explanation and understanding of basic realities and the ebb and flow of life. I am reminded of these things as I sit outside on an unseasonably warm day in November with a view of trees bared of their multicolored leaves that have been collected by my earnest neighbors in piles lining the suburban streets for pickup.
Fall is ebbing into the dark night of winter. The subtle coolness in the breeze portends (what seems to me now) a distant spring. I am braced for what comes next as I enjoy what is likely to be the lest vestige of warmer days for longer than I care to think about.
My hope for the spring, however far off it seems in my present mood, is rooted in my experience of the certainty of the seasons. I know my hope is not fanciful, even as I brace (all too knowingly) for the cold, bleak trudge ahead.
It seems completely natural that ancient mythology captures this duality in stories that have religious significance. These experiences are common to man. We remind ourselves of the hope of spring as we gaze in wonderment at fall trees in the throes of seasonal death and the chill onset of winter. It reminds us of our own life and death sagas, even now in all our modern comforts.
Our modern comforts allow us to be a bit more disconnected and circumspect, perhaps, than our ancient forbearers. Those comforts and great advances in scientific knowledge allow us to be intellectual about these things. Ancient pagans lived literally at the mercy of the seasons, and all the things they didn’t know played like gods on the stage of their fraught imagination.
Modern people chalk seasonal changes up to natural cycles that just happen. We believe humans chased all the gods off long ago. The ownership we have asserted in our knowledge of the way the world works gives us an illusion of control that I surmise is not all that much different than the ancients, who sought some ownership and control of this world through the mediators of gods they thought they could appease.
Pagans found solace in the seasons as we do. Myth is rooted in collective experience, and it is driven by an impulse to understand and import control into our experience. We also have a natural inclination to seek meaning. We might call this impulse a “religious” one.
Though we have the chased the gods off, we still have a religious impulse. Though we no longer believe in many gods, and we no longer venerate ancient myths with more than a curious read, the idea of one, Creator God God persists, and it is not explained away by modern science and knowledge. The Bible, though it has ancient origins, stands up to our modern scrutiny in ways that pagan myth does not.
Navigating by Faith 