What are we really afraid of?

This morning, we had a wonderful service. The Holy Spirit was on the move. I am writing this a little later in the day, and wanted to follow up with a few thoughts.

What ARE we afraid of, anyway?

It was a message that was challenging to preach, and I’m sure it was challenging to hear.

What are we afraid of?

We have allowed ourselves to be divided.

By ideology…

By politics…

By race…

By so many things.

We have allowed others to build walls between us and divide us with fear. At the same time, we are so blinded by our own division, we don’t see those behind the scenes who want that division distracting us.

It’s time we start to push back against the tide of fear mongering and division.

Sometimes, we are at least partly at fault ourselves. When we are divided, we do not engage. We do not have the conversation. We end up denying what is going on, because it doesn’t reach us.

For example, how can I made any statements about racism in this country without having spent time and having honest, hard conversations with people of color? How can I tell you what your life is like unless I have spent the time to find out directly from you?

Our culpability is not always active, though. Sometimes, we are guilty of going with the flow.

Look where we are.

We are trusting the wrong people.

We have allowed ourselves to be distracted from Jesus in many ways.

We have allowed our faith to be co-opted by powers and principalities.

It is time to step back and take an assessment.

Where are our priorities?

What is driving our passion?

This world is being divided into US and THEM. The rhetoric driving this division is simple, but effective.

THEY are not like US.

THEY want to take _______ (fill in the blank) from US.

THEY want to destroy US.

Therefore, let US destroy THEM first.

Now, take a look at that attitude in the context of being Christ followers.

Jesus taught his disciples (us) to love our enemies. So, the whole US vs THEM talk brings us up against a problem anyway. Not only are we not loving our enemies in this system, we are allowing others to label people as our enemies. It doesn’t add up!

Then, when you add that US vs THEM rhetoric into the mix, we are looking at something we should have nothing to do with.

But, here we are anyway. Not only are some of us perhaps hearing the rhetoric and nodding our heads, some of us may actually be helping to build those walls even higher.

But the rhetoric is pack of lies and our enemy number one is the father of lies.

Are we really going to let the devil’s lies dictate how we see others?

I mentioned it this morning, and I’ll say it again here: we’re making the devil’s job easy. He can sit back and watch right now. He wants to destroy us, but he doesn’t need to put forth much effort when he can sit back and watch us destroy each other.

My dear friends, this should not be happening!

As followers of Christ, we are called to be part of the Kingdom of God – a Kingdom not of this world. Further, this is not just a Kingdom we look forward to after this life. It is a Kingdom that is alive HERE AND NOW IN US.

Dallas Willard said: “The gospel is less about how to get into the Kingdom of Heaven after you die, and more about how live in the Kingdom of Heaven before you die.” We are in this RIGHT NOW. If that Kingdom is really alive in us, shouldn’t we be living it to the fullest now and inviting others to join us?

That was a rhetorical question, by the way. The answer is: YES, of course we should!

So, how do we do that? We do that by tearing down those walls and building tables.

We do that by refusing to play the game of US vs THEM, because it is not compatible with Kingdom living. Besides, it is not a game that can really be played. It is a game that plays us.

I won’t allow myself to be played. I’m into tearing down walls and building tables.

I want to invite people into my messy life, and I have ADHD, so messy is no metaphor!

I want to be a part of others’ messy lives. I want to have every opportunity to live the love God has graciously given me. I want to live it by giving it away.

This is not about me. It’s about Him. It’s about everyone else. It’s about being an ambassador to the Kingdom of God, and that means tables, not walls. It means you’re invited to sit and share a meal, a drink, a few minutes, a conversation.

I want to show you that God loves you by showing you that I love you. There is no limit to what God can do. I know, because I know what He has done for me.

Let’s get busy and give our real enemy something to worry about. Let’s show him the Kingdom of God is alive in us, and we are not just willing, but looking forward to sharing it.

God loves you, I love you, and there’s nothing you can do about it!