This whole following Christ deal is difficult. I mean, He said it would be and He is right. One of the most difficult things for me is the balance between right and wrong. We don’t have a list of things to do and not to do, though some Christians will say that we do. And because sometimes the answers are not clearly written in stone, we have times where we disagree. One person will say this is right and the next person will say it’s wrong. And then there’s a big debate and sides are chosen. This whole cycle of things is so old and has been too overdone. With all that being said I am going to voice my opinion about something. Again this is just what I believe and I don’t expect everyone to agree with me. This is just me taking what I have learned from God and trying to apply it.
Did Jesus support war? I can’t find any scripture that says He did. Sure most of the Old Testament is about war and God constantly told the Israelites to go to war. But to me, when Jesus stepped out of Eternity and into this world, He brought with Him a different way of doing things. He said things like blessed are the peacemakers. When the Romans came to arrest Jesus with swords and torches, Peter makes a violent act of cutting off one of the soldier’s ears. Jesus could have just let it be, but He doesn’t. He says no to the way of violence. He says if He wanted to He could call down a whole army of angels to have His back. His army of angels would definitely be better than anything Caesar could put together. But Jesus doesn’t play by the way of violence. He says no. He says those who live by the sword will die by the sword. He tells Peter to put down his sword; to stop the violence.
Not only did Jesus want to stop the endless cycle of violence, but he wanted to bring restoration to man’s violent ways. For instance, he could have just left the man’s ear on the ground, and by earthly standards, the man deserved it. But Jesus doesn’t give the soldier what he deserves. He heals him. He makes things new. Jesus is the ultimate peacemaker and He is the restorer of our own violent ways.
There tends to be this unspoken conservative Christian rule that if you love Jesus you will vote Republican. And if you are Republican you will be for the war in Iraq. Christianity and politics are a touchy subject, I know. We have our issues of abortion and gay marriage and we say that we want to have laws concerning these areas. We call it the Sanctity of Life. We say God is against abortion and gay marriage so we want to make laws against them. I just have one question, why do we think we can apply our faith to laws about gay marriage and abortion and then disregard what Jesus says about violence and war? It seems like a double standard. We vote as if we want our nation to be a Christian nation, but we totally neglect what Jesus says about violence. If we want to apply Jesus to laws of gay marriage and abortion, shouldn’t we apply Jesus concerning war?
Really I am not saying I am for the war or against it. I honestly don’t know where I stand as a follower of Christ on this issue. Is war ever justifiable as a nation? Maybe. Is violence ever a way that represents Jesus? I can’t say that it is. I don’t think we are a Christian nation. Sure there were some great Biblical ideas in forming this nation, but we are not a theocracy. For me, I can’t support the war and then turn around and want to vote for God concerning gay marriage and abortion. I would have to call myself a hypocrite. For you, it may be okay. I am simply saying what Jesus had led me to believe. I do know that as a powerful nation, we should help the oppressed. I know that in Africa there are 10 year olds being forced to fight in wars and we as a nation have done little to end this. I think the War in Iraq will never be won because we are not fighting a nation, we are fighting a belief. Nations are easier to defeat than beliefs.
I do support our troops and I do love my country. But my citizenship is first and foremost in His Kingdom and I have to remember that while living in this world. I know some of you may disagree with me and that’s okay. I am not here to debate these issues or anything. I am just throwing ideas out there. If God speaks to you, then great. Debating hardly ever brings about any positive outcome. Walk in love…
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