Monday, July 7, 2008
Whether we realize it or not -- and we need to realize it! -- we are more intimately connected to those with whom we share worship and prayer -- rich and poor, black and white, American, Asian, African, the immigrant crossing the border, the victims of violence, the reviled, the outcast, and the pariahs, heterosexuals and homosexuals -- than to partisan allies or compatriots. That might sound like a dangerous notion, but Christian discipleship is a venture filled with difficult risks and demands. The love that is perfectly lived and share in God is the same love felt, tasted and celebrated in the church, and because that is true, the members of the body of Christ, citizens in the Kingdom of God, live according to a different standard than political loyalty and personal preferences. (Charles Marsh, Wayward Christian Soldiers: Freeing the Gospel from Political Captivity, 118)
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5 comments:
I can admit crossing boundaries to imitate Jesus example to others that didn’t look like me was a journey in itself. This paragraph rings loud in my ears and I appreciate you sharing this. I’ll have to check this book out…
Phil,
Thanks for stopping by. It's a pretty easy read, but a good book nonetheless. The author is a UVA professor and a solid believer. Let me know what you think about it.
Randy, I loved this post. It reminds me how intimate a relationship we enter into when we refer to each other as church family. How when we vow to share each others loads, and take each other concerns to God's throne through prayer, we should also add no matter your circumstances, our differences, sexual preference, race, etc. It really is a serious thing isn't it? Can you imagine how our church, this world would be transformed if we all lived by the promise to love and pray for one another no matter.....
Thanks for challenging me to expand!
Theresa
Randy, this post resonates SO well after returning from Nicaragua! Worshiping with the people of Managua was an amazing glimpse of heaven - God reached across languages, cultures, styles of prayer and music to elicit the same praise from all of us. Many of the songs they sang were Spanish equivalents of songs we knew, and we loved knowing that we were all singing the same thing to the Lord. This truly is the Kingdom of God! We shared more with people who culturally and economically were worlds apart from us, than with people right here in the States whose circumstances are the same as ours. Thanks for this reminder, Randy!
"Christian discipleship is a venture filled with difficult risks and demands." ... that phrase seems a bit foreshadowing in light of your recent post about Alex ... just thinking out loud/in type. :-)
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