Bring The Kingdom Of Heaven To Earth

 I shared in earlier posts how when the results of the election took place, that I was done being so involved with politics. I was no longer willing to listen to the news anywhere near as much, or follow the events of the president as in the past. As one pastor said this past week at a conference, that he was on a "political fast" and so am I.

Anytime there are two points of view or more, there is a divide between those that hold those opinions. It seems that now more than ever there is such a hostile political divide. And while I recognize that fact, and I too have strong opinions, and even though I did not become a hermit and live in a cave, I determined to have only a casual interest in what is going on in the political world. I have tried to muffle my political opinion, and focus more on Spiritual matters, the results of which have been the subjects of the many recent posts.

As a Jesus follower, I have been trying to figure out what is my role is in light of the great emphasis on the division of political sides in the country. I recently began to work some of it out in my thinking, and shared some of my thoughts during breakfast at the hotel we were staying at during a church conference last week. 

My point was never to bring up politics except as a reference point, and yet my point was taken out of context and it upset someone to the point they left the table, not even knowing that I agreed with him politically. But I did not tell him that, because I was focused on trying to explain that I was working out a thought that perhaps Christians are called to spread the Gospel of another Kingdom that is not of this world, rather than trying to influence the kingdom of this world. 

I began wondering what would Jesus tell us to do in light of this volatile political climate... and I was going to say if He were here, (but really isn't He here... in us)? And don't we have the Holy Spirit as our teacher, who will lead us into all truth? Of course, that's true, so then does that mean it is our calling to become a weapon of political power to change who holds the Executive, and Legislative branches in Washington? That has been a huge part of the controversy over Christians ignoring the moral actions of the previous president, in order to enact his policies. Enough said. So what is the role of a follower of Christ?

 I have thought a lot about the time of Jesus when the Jewish nation was under rule of the Roman government! There was great political divide even then! There were the Herodians, the Sadducees, Pharisees, Zealots, and Essenes, and yet Jesus did not focus on the political, but rather the personal. Though He did say "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's."  That should be all we need to know about our political involvement. We are to be in this world, but not OF this world.

Of course during the time of Jesus, the Jews main focus was on the Messiah coming to set them free from the Romans! For the Messiah to rule like King David. That was even the main focus of the disciples during their three years, with Jesus trying to tell them differently. "My kingdom is not of this world..." said Jesus. What if Jesus told us the same thing, would that change our views on politics?  Being free from the Roman's was Judas' main reason for betraying Jesus. He was thinking to force Jesus' hand to start the battle and not to let Himself get captured! Is God wanting to use political power to enact His Kingdom in the earth? I think the answer is an obvious no, both then and now.

Before the Resurrection, the main focus of the disciples was to usurp the political power that held them in captivity, so what about AFTER the Resurrection? What did the disciples do after the Resurrection? What was their focus now? What was their mission now? What was their calling now? You see, the Romans were still in power from the time before the Crucifixion and for several years after the upper room experience of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. But what DID change was the mission of the disciples to now spread the news that Jesus is Lord, and Caesar is not! They were not called to fight the kingdoms of this world, but rather to usher in the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth! The good news wasn't then, and it isn't now to escape this world and go to heaven, but rather it is "Thy will be done IN EARTH as it is in Heaven." What makes us think we have a different message?

So what if we as believers, and followers of Jesus were to do the same thing? What if we as believers put much less focus on the earthly kingdom in Washington and more emphasis on our Heavenly Father's Kingdom in the earth?  I realized I had no influence on the election results. I am Canadian, and cannot even vote, and all we can really do as citizens is to vote the one into power that we think might be the best candidate, and in reality, it is our Heavenly Father who has the final say as to who is in the seat in Washington. Can someone steal an election and God not know about it?  And that was my point at the breakfast table.  And since that is the case, why not just trust Him to worry about that while we focus our attention on our mission to Bring the Kingdom of Heaven To Earth.