Tag: Bible

In the face of empire worship, we turn ours to Jesus.

Lately I’ve been wondering,
What do we do?

As we sit and watch little self-appointed kings perch upon their thrones of power.
Adorned in molten crowns, traces of the golden calves thrown at their feet still visible to those who have eyes to see.
Calves erected by the very ones who taught us to be on guard against false prophets and heed warnings of old.

Those who have ears… let him hear. 

Hear the little kings spout hate with the promise of destruction.
Death and decay celebrated in the name of empire.
Juxtaposing our call to celebrate Renewal and Resurrection – The Living Promise – made possible by self-sacrificial love.

So.much.opposition.
To The Humble King’s way.

So what do we do?

When there are lunches to pack and permission slips to sign.
Dogs to walk and dinners to make.

How do we rage?

We, who do not subscribe to this idea that power is king.
We, who are not used to the feeling of wanting to rage?

We are told to abide in Him…
So, we’ll try. 

To abide in Him who is reflected in the faces of all. 

We decorate tambourines before the Red Sea parts,
believing in the promise of an already and not yet Kingdom of rejoicing.

We laugh hard with neighbors around the table,
the Imageo Dei in us, communing with the Imageo Dei in them. 

We fill up the home and paint each other’s nails,
recalling how He washed their feet all those years ago.

We snuggle our babies and love them lavishly,
doing our best to model how to invite in, and love freely.

We marvel, with wonder and awe, at the moon put in the vast vast sky.
Collectively feeling the childlike hope and joy of being a part of something good, something big, something cosmic.

We turn our eyes and ears to what is pure, what is lovely, what is true.
And do our best to point others that way as well.

The way of the One who is continuously creating new life,
to point His beloveds back to Him.
Because of love. 
For Love. 

It’s what we can strive to do in the face of empire worship – 
Fix our eyes on Jesus.

And love His people so well,
they might see Him in us too. 

A prayer for my kids on Election Day 2020.

Jesus,

Please help me to teach my children, and lead by example, the way of Love. Your Way.

Let me raise them to feed the hungry and clothe the naked.
Let me raise them to welcome the stranger and visit the prisoner.
Let me raise them to tend to the sick and give drink to the thirsty.

Jesus, please.

Let me raise them to love their neighbor as themselves and let them understand the vastness and inclusivity of the word ‘neighbor.’
Let me raise them to take care of the widow and the orphan.
Let me raise them to strive for peace and humility while giving a voice to the powerless.
Let me raise them to know that the Kingdom is greater than one country.

Jesus, please.

Help me to show them how to use their words to instill hope and healing, not division and hate.
Help me to show them how to love their enemies and recognize that all are your image bearers.
Help me to show them that faith apart from works is barren.

Jesus, please.

Show me how to raise lights in this darkness.
For this world has been, and will continue to be, dark in the hours, days, weeks, months and years to come – no matter the outcome of this election.

Please, Jesus.

Help me be the kind of Mama that points her children to you and your ways with my words and actions.

Today, and every day.

Amen.

Mamas. If we profess to love Jesus with our lips, let us remember to act like Him as well. Especially when/if the election does not go the way we voted.

Let us remember that God chose to send his son – the King of Kings and Lord of all Lords, as a helpless baby, who grew up to be a humble man, not living in a White House, but who traveled around with nowhere to call his home, spreading love and the good news of salvation to everyone.

Let’s be careful to remember that we are members of a Kingdom not bound by this Earth first, and citizens of this country second.

Please, exercise your right to vote. It is a privilege many do not have. But please, please. Let us remember our calling and mission – to love God and love His people… all of His people… all of the time.

Little eyes are watching us and it’s our job to show them how.