After the recent death of former President Gerald Ford, there was an article in Time magazine about his "secret faith". This article got me thinking about the trend in the last couple of elections in which candidates tell us that they are people of strong moral and religious convictions, however, they won't allow their personal "faith" to override political decisions.
This past weekend, I watched a movie called "The Mission" (1986; Robert deNiro, Jeremy Irons) which takes place in the South American jungles in the 1750s and deals with the issues of the Catholic church and it's influence in the policies of Spain and Portugal. So what happens when the church puts aside its moral and biblical responsibilities for political expediency, and personal faith does not influence our decisions? The end is not pretty.
Americans always seem so surprised when Muslims act out their religious faith according to the Koran. Perhaps that is because the north American church, while talking the good talk, seems all too willing to put the Bible aside when unpopular decisions and policies need to be made.
My belief is that there is no such thing as "secret faith". Jesus said "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:16) Many of us sang "This Little Light of Mine" in Sunday school, which wisely admonished us, even as children, to not hide our light underneath a basket, until Jesus comes.
My faith cannot be kept secret. If I walked into a car dealership, and the owner handed me the keys to a brand new car, said "Take it...it's a gift...and I have one for everyone who asks!", I would immediately tell all my friends and everyone else to go get this free gift. How much better is the gift of eternal life?
So why wouldn't I tell everyone I meet about my relationship with Jesus? It's the best gift I have ever received!
**sigh**
ReplyDeleteI think "christians" are often surprised when Christians act according to the bible. The American church is sick and there are few on fire Christians in the middle of the Country. You kinda have to go to places where we are hated, i.e. San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, to find true on fire Christians. That isn't to say that they don't exist in Omaha, or Minot, or Topeka, but they are harder to find because they are not challenged.
John Wesley once said, "Set yourself on fire and the world will come and watch you burn." I would say now would be a good time to add fuel to the flame... Holy Spirit come!
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