Identity Protected
Jesus said,
My Kingdom is not of this world. (*1)
His statement could stand on its own in any setting, but it’s worth noting that the context of His comment was right in the midst of a 1st century version of our Donkey Elephant war. Jesus was caught in the middle of two political struggles:
between the Jews and the occupying Romans; and
between the Jewish religious leaders who had plenty of power, and the average Jewish citizen.
It would have been so easy for Jesus to take sides. He could have played the ultimate trump card (no pun intended) and revealed His divinity in a massive power display, ending all conversation once and for all. Instead, Jesus chose to respect human freedom, even freedom run amok, and reveal His Kingship in the most unexpected way: by laying down His life. Jesus chose a cross for His throne. (*2)
In all the cross-cultural work I’ve had the privilege of engaging in over the last couple of decades, the most powerful truth was right in front of me the whole time, and I’d missed it. The best way to make progress cross culturally is through the culture of the cross. At the cross we lay down our rights rather than assert them. The cross is the ultimate valuing of others over ourselves. King Jesus’ cross-throne is the path not only toward cultural reconciliation but political progress as well. Cross-cultural unity starts with the culture of the cross: listening more than we speak, seeking to understand more than to be understood, placing others in the best light possible.
Image: _Alicja_/Pixabay
“My Kingdom is not of this world.” With such a clear statement from our Savior, I wouldn’t expect it to be so easy to mess it up. Yet if we pay attention to politics at all, it’s so stinking easy to over-identify and jump right into the competitive melee. Should the answer be to disengage from politics? Does “My Kingdom is not of this world” mean that Jesus doesn’t care what happens down here, so neither should we? No, and no. Jesus cares greatly about what happens down here. His statement isn’t an invitation to escape. His own life bears witness to that quite clearly: He left the safe confines of heaven to enter our messy world. As God, surely He could have invented some other way to do business if His ultimate message was, “Abandon ship. This world’s going down.” He’s merely inviting us to recognize that our ultimate identity is elsewhere. Jesus is inviting us to invest in the eternal, rather than merely good and temporal things that can’t deliver beyond the dagger of death. (*3)
Political engagement is the goal. Political identity is the fumble. Being politically inclined is a good thing, but being partisan identified is not. “My Kingdom is not of this world” is a both/and statement, not an either/or. We’ll be most effective in caring for this world if our identity is out of this world.
As I’ve illustrated from my own life, keeping our identity rooted where it belongs is no one-time task. We acknowledge Jesus as Lord when we accept Him as our Savior, but unlike the playground days of my childhood where “No takebacks!” was the ultimate argument-ender, we take back the throne all the time, putting all kinds of substitutes in the place that belongs to Jesus.
Since misery seems to love company, here’s some. The very first invitation I received to speak about the Good News of Jesus in a Donkey Elephant War came from a most unlikely place. An African refugee congregation in Tucson was preparing to celebrate their fourth anniversary, and they invited me to speak at the occasion. Jean Steven Parfait Mfuranzima, one of the leaders of the congregation and a Burundian refugee, was my point person. When we got together to plan for the service, we started by catching up with one another. I shared about this new ministry (J17 Ministries) that I had started, and this writing project that was on my heart. He looked at me awkwardly, thinking of literal donkeys and elephants at war, and not knowing what I meant at first. When I explained, his look was even more surprising – one of utter astonishment. He said,
Pastor David, that is what you must speak about when you come to our congregation.
I said, “Really? American politics?” But then he explained that many of the people in their congregation had been very engaged in their faith back in Africa, but that in America, it was very hard to stay engaged. There was so much to learn: English, American culture and customs, new job skills, and so forth, that Christian faith was slipping into the back seat, while the American Dream took over the driver’s seat. He said,
You must talk to us about our primary identity, because we’re losing ours in pursuit of the American Dream.
Unwittingly, the Roman leaders in a sarcastic slam on the Jews posted a sign over Jesus’ head on the cross that read, “This is Jesus: The King of the Jews.” (Matthew 27:37)
Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-20, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”