News Health: Is Jesus Up for the Moment?

Happy Sunday,

“To live is Christ, to die is gain.”

Philippians 1:21

Is Jesus up for the Moment?

My dad, a pastor of 40+ years, told me he’s seeing an uptick in people concerned that Jesus’s call to “love enemies” sounds nice but is not up for this cultural moment. They claim the others are playing dirty, and if we don’t fight back, we’ll just get trampled. 

They may be right. 

Leading with radical love and forgiveness might not be a winning strategy… but it’s still the correct choice. Our goal as Christians isn’t to win the cultural moment; it’s to glorify God within every cultural moment.

One of the great joys of following Christ is that I do not need to stress about the next year, decade, or century. I don’t even need to fight to avoid being trampled. I can simply focus on faithfully following God’s commands—including His call to love people who persecute Christians—regardless of whether it seems like God is winning or losing… because I know that God eventually wins. 

The Apostle Paul models this posture in Philippians 1 by seeming wholly unconcerned about his own persecution. He openly wishes his enemies would kill him so he can be with Christ, “which is far better,” but says if they don’t, he’ll just continue with his “fruitful labor” of sharing the gospel (including with his jailors). Paul’s posture comes from a complete confidence in Christ and the certainty of his own eternity in Heaven. Paul knows he’s on the winning team, but he also understands that it’s not going to win because of him, but because of Jesus. There’s no pressure on Paul to get results or “win” the moment—he’s just responsible for being faithful.

I want to be more like Paul: committed to doing what is right and confident that God will win even if I lose.

What do you think?
Jason

Correction: In this newsletter, I incorrectly used the term “children of God” to refer to all humans. All humans are loved by God and made in His image… but Scripture reserves the phrase “child of God” for believers (John 1:12). 

Recommended: For years, my dad (a pastor of 40 years) has sent The Friday Update—quick insights on culture, thought-provoking quotes, fascinating statistics, and Biblical wisdom. I didn’t read it for a long time (it was an email from my dad…), but finally gave it a shot and am pleased to say that he seems wiser and more interesting than when I was in high school. It’s free and worth your time. Subscribe in one click!

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