just a savior?

today i want to take a moment to challenge you. it's good to wrestle with things and be challenged in the way that we think and what we believe. for some of us, our beliefs have never really changed too drastically in the past 5, 10 or 20 years. i'm not here to change your beliefs but rather push you to contemplate the way we percieve the world.

today is not a political statement. the issue discussed will be something i have wrestled with in the past and i want you to simply think about, but don't think about it from a republican, democratic, conservative, liberal, libertarian, or any other view. think about the issue from a Biblical mindset. try to think about what scriptures would have to say. think of how Jesus would view the issue. try not to think about what you've been raised to believe and try to not let your baggage overshadow the Gospel.

i recently received an email that discussed americas's "border policy" in regards to the benifits illegal immigrants have in the u.s. it stated, "the government gives benefits to 'illegal' aliens who have never contributed, where does that leave those of us..."

without jumping over to your "politcal" side, how do you feel about this?

did the excerpt from the email resonate with you?

have you complained about illegal immigrants lately?

was the issue of how our next president handled immigration part of your decision on who to vote for?

what is it about people coming to america that you don't like?

i've heard all the arguements about crime, drugs, taking jobs, etc. but what about the other 90% who just want to have a chance at living in a safer place? or having employment?

what does scripture say about "immigrants"?

in the Old Testament God told the people to leave some of their crops for the foreigners, so that they would have something to eat.

when I think about this, I wonder if these foreigners were like our illegal aliens? They were coming onto the land of God's people and eating what was left there for them. this idea of "God's people" has been carried over into the american mindset - think manifest destiny. if you don't remember what manifest destiny was, in a nutshell it was a political slogan that developed into an american mindset when men and women were spreading across the "un-claimed" landscape we know now as america. it was the belief that God had ordained the early settlers to take the land.

back to the foreigners of the Old Testament. they didn't work for the food they received, they never labored in the field to help it get to harvest, but God saw that they needed to eat regardless of what they did or didn't do. He asked His people (believers) to take care of them, to sacrifice, not to build fences around their land, but to allow people to come on it and eat from it.

think about the story of Ruth. this is a story about "illegal aliens" coming onto someones land and gleaning. it's a beautiful story about faithfulness, provision, loyalty, grace and love. Ruth and Naomi didn't have all they needed but it was the obedience of a believer that allowed them to eat off the land.

did God know that some of the people coming in were going to be violent, bad people - of course, but He still wanted them to be given some of what He blessed the believers with. like OT times, today we have 'foreigners' coming onto american soil and we are giving them what is left over. now some might argue that we give too much, but is it ours to give or keep? as it was done in ancient times, does God ask us to leave some for them to glean on as they come in and stay.

to be perfeclty frank, if I lived in juarez, mexico, I would want to come to America too. have you ever stood in el paso and looked across the border? the differences in the houses inhabitants of juarez call home and the homes in el paso are staggering. i would find a way to get here as quickly as I could.

so where do we draw the line between being Christians who want to protect our country and keep people out who need to be out, and being more than like Jesus?

i just feel Jesus saying, "come on over, we love you and will do anything we can for you. take my house, my car, my job. take what I have, because you are that important to God, so I will treat you as such." i don't see Christ saying, "stay there. you're an outlaw, a drug user, and not a good person, so you are to stay in your own filth, in your own country."

are we letting culture regulate our view of scripture or are we letting scripture change the way we view culture?

from a Biblical perspective, do we really own this country? i personally don't think so. if all things belong to God, doesn't this land belong to Him as well. now I know not all government officials are Christian but we are, so how do we support closing something off when it's not ours to do so with.

i heard a pastor make a statement about how the vast majority of believers today love Jesus. we love Him with all of our hearts, we love Him because He is our savior, but the reality is, we never really want to live like He did.

do we really want to become like Jesus? it's a serious question that i think we need to all ask oursevles. i know i need to ask myself.

we all love the fact that Jesus served the people and He even got down on His knees to wash His disciples feet, but is that really what you want to be your focus in life - serving others?

we are incredibly grateful that Jesus was beaten, spit on, and hated for what He did, but we would never let that happen to us.

we love the idea that Jesus laid down His rights, but we spend our lives fighting for ours and defending ours at all costs necessary.

we praise Him for our "blessings" He has given us and we thank Him that He spent His time on this earth in suffering for our sake, but we are going to have fun while we're down here and have a good life.

is your desire to be like Jesus? is Jesus just your savior or is He your role model?

i think it's important to ask ourselves this because all too often we get caught up in justifying all of the things in our lives that we really can't line up with the Gospel. it's as though we tell ourselves for so long that Jesus wants us to have this and this and this, that eventually we know Christ only as our savior rather than knowing the Jesus that we should be living like everyday.

all of this is asked because we, as followers of Christ, must see that there is something missing from most of our lives. we know the Savior, but do we know the Servant?

once Jesus becomes your role model and you start living like Him, your perceptions of the world will change and you might not be as concerned with politics as you once were, but rather, your concern might shift to the hearts and well being of all of God's creation. Jesus was a man who changed the country He lived in by changing the hearts of people, not by changing laws.

a last thought to chew on for the week - if you are passionate about abortion, or gay rights, or illegal immigration, i want to ask you when the last time you personally spent time and loved on a pregnant teenager contemplating abortion? when was the last time you befriended a gay couple and invested in their life? when was the last time you sat down and talked with a man who worked here illegally and sent all of his extra cash back home so his kids could eat?

we spend so much time talking about issues that are important to us, but we scarcely love the people these issues effect most.

being political is much easier than being like Jesus.

today, may you love the ones you don't want to love.

may your heart be stretched and your mind be perplexed.

may all that is in you be unsettled so that you wrestle with where you are at with Christ.

may you become more like Jesus today by serving those around you.

i love you all and i pray for your time to wrestle with all of this.

peace be with you.