As Kim Jong-un ponders the above question the world waits with baited breath to see what his answer will be, but it also highlights the fact that there are always big questions and big problems that creates stress and concern. If it isn't North Korea it's terrorism, or pandemics, or global financial crises, or global warming, or something else that fires the news reports and creates worry in people's lives.
This is in stark contrast to the overwhelming truth that God isn't worried or stressed!
I don't believe this means that followers of Jesus should be blase or remain uninvolved in these issues. As a part of the mandate to be faithful witnesses to the presence of God's kingdom in the world it is important that we are in the dark places and times to offer love, comfort, grace, and be active in prayer and practical works that demonstrate God's heart for people and for justice. I do believe it means that as Christians we are to be the source of hope and confidence that no matter how desperate the events of the world stage appear, God is ultimately in control and working his plan for the redemption of his creation.
The psalmist reminds us that God is intimately aware and involved in every aspect of our lives (Ps. 139); Jesus points out that his concern for us in greater than we often suspect (Matt. 6:26-24); and whatever the dating of John's Revelation he is encouraging Christians under persecution from either Nero or Domitian that the Lamb has won the victory over the powers and forces of chaos in the world and is, through his people, establishing the ongoing beauty of God's eschatological kingdom. John's message is, "Sure it's tough, sure it's dark, but the light of Christ is getting ever brighter!"
Often I read posts and articles from Christians that seem to have an undertone of panic that if we don't do something all is lost! There are calls to fast and pray and rebuke and bind and loose that imply that Calvary and the empty tomb weren't the decisive acts, the climax of history that have once and for all defeated sin, death and the devil and provided for the enthronement of Jesus as the world's true Lord and the inauguration and victory of his kingdom. And yes, we have a part to play in living into that truth; and yes, there are still forces and powers that resist the incursion of light and life and love; but the overwhelming story of the Bible is that the God who created all things is outworking his ultimate plan for the deliverance and transformation of his creation and that he did so through the death of his Son.
God isn't worried. At a time when Augustus Caesar was hailed as 'Son of God and Saviour', the little group known as Christian claimed that their dead Messiah was, in fact, Son of God and Saviour. At a time when every knee would bow and every tongue confess that Caesar was lord, Paul called on Christians to affirm the truth that everything in heaven and earth and under the earth - the entire cosmology of his day, including Imperial Rome - would bow the knee and confess instead that Jesus was Lord. For a tiny group with every hand against them this seemed a bizarre claim, but for God it was the resounding truth that brought order to chaos, light into darkness and freedom to captives. The witness of the followers of Jesus was a prophetic declaration to the reality Paul's words, "For in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things were created through him and for him" (Col. 1:16).
Just because the authorities and governments of the world usurp their rightful Lord doesn't mean that God has lost control. I am forever stunned at Peter's inspired observation in his first sermon, "This Jesus, was handed over to you according to God's deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross" (Acts 2:23). In a later letter Peter reminds a church that despite the opposition they face, all authorities and powers have been subjected to Christ.
My father was born during WW1, my mother during the Great Depression. My Dad served in the Royal Navy in WW2, they were married at the time of the Korean War, and I have lived through a world that witnessed the social upheaval of the 60s, the Vietnam War, the 1970s oil crisis, the dot com boom and bust, the fall of Communist Russia, two Iraq wars, 9/11, the GFC, not to mention numerous other threats, famines, crises and epidemics. I carry worries and concerns and wonder what it all means for my kids and my grandkids.
But God isn't worried. He's ok. From before any of this began he has been working his purposes for a beautiful future where love and justice have been birthed through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Paul calls these sufferings birth pains (Rom. 8:22) which cannot begin to compare with what God is bringing through it all.
Those of us who follow Christ are not to worry but to live in a manner that builds towards the future explicit revelation of Christ's worldwide kingdom, "...because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain." (1 Cor. 15:58)
I have a couple of Roman coins that are from a time when the future of the Christian church seemed limited and followers of Jesus faced the choice to die or recognise another lord who claimed to be the son of god. That empire is gone, that lord is dead, that threat is passed. There will always be crises and reasons to wonder at what on earth is going on in the world. Always. But God doesn't worry, he isn't concerned, and he has called a people to continually serve as a reminder that the creator hasn't abandoned his creation but is at work through the chaos and darkness to one day make all things right.
The faith tradition I grew up in, and the contemporary church at large, draws a false dichotomy between the experience of God in our lives and what we term 'religion.' We are fond of noting that we aren't religious, we have a personal relationship with Jesus. Religion is seen as the human attempt to win favour with God and earn the right to achieve 'salvation' and as such is understood to be the antithesis of the gospel of grace.
We are wrong.
Not that the gospel is grace, or that human efforts can ever be sufficient for God's approval. Humanity is distorted by the effects of sin and only through Christ can salvation be found and the image of God restored. Where we are wrong is our understanding of religion.
A common cliche when I was growing up was, "I'm not religious, I just love the Lord." But it seems that is exactly what being religious means! In fact, according to James, if our affirmation of loving God is correct, then it will be confirmed by 'religious' behaviour.
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world" (James 1:27) The way James uses the word 'religion' (Greek, threskeia) is to focus our attention on the heart of 'religious duty' and to contrast that which is false religion. James is indicating, as he does through most of his letter, that if our claim to be followers of God through Christ is valid, then the way we live our lives will reflect it!
The word 'religion' used here means, "religious worship, religious discipline, fear of (a) god, reverence for (a) god, devotion," all very positive aspects of our Christian walk and worship. I believe that what James is expressing in his letter that is important for us to be aware of in our lives is that the Christian worship of God through a life as a disciple of Jesus Christ is reflected in the way that this is practically embodied in our lifestyle.
This is a dangerous thought, James' line-in-the-sand declaration is a dangerous concept. If Christianity is reduced to a personal relationship with Jesus, then it can be an individual, private spirituality. But once the concept of religious devotion practically expressed in action is embraced, then individual must be expanded to involve others, private is replaced by public, and spirituality necessitates an others-oriented component.
The Bible never defines the worship of God as having a personal relationship with God. Yes, such an idea is implied by the teaching that God is our Father, that we are to love as we have been loved, that Christ is the head of the body and groom of the bride etc., but more often we will find commands to obey, a King and Lord to serve, a surrender of self to his will and purposes, and a counter-cultural lifestyle to embrace.
This isn't an either/or choice, but a both/and situation where a personal encounter and relationship with God inspires religious worship and practice. Because I have a loving relationship with my wife I act in the manner I do; and because I have a relationship with my Father in heaven I engage in religious practices.
Religion isn't the opposite of Christian faith, but the heart of it!
Why would I say that? Because Jesus said there were two key aspects to living as the people of God under the New Covenant that summed up everything in the Old Covenant, to love God and love others. One necessitates and births the other. If religion is the activity of practically expressing what I am devoted to, then I am religious because it is the intended purpose of God in my life.
Notice what James says is pure and faultless religion, '...to look after orphans and widows and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.' True, God honouring religion, the practices that please him and reflect his kingdom well, is to care for the oppressed, marginalised and needy; and to live in a way that embodies the values of his kingdom rather than those of our culture.
This verse follows immediately on from those that teach we should be doers of the Word of God, not just hearers; and that we should be careful of the words that we use. The verses immediately following teach about the wrong attitudes that give privilege and preference to the prosperous and wealthy in church rather than treating all people the same - no matter how much they give or how much they have. James is reminding us that in this difficult and corrupt world we need to be religious: that the way we act and live must line up with what we claim to worship and be devoted to.
So, despite all my claims to the contrary over the last thirty-seven and a half years, I discover that I am religious. Or rather, that I want to be. I want to live in a way that is true to the work God has done in me, that is obedient to the guidance of his Spirit and his Word, and that is in conformity with the example of the new humanity God has called us to, exemplified in Jesus.
What about you?
