As a Christian I have viewed New Zealand as a Christian nation. As time has passed by the country has shifted to become a secular democracy. Much of the philosophy that underpins the various secular groupings is diametrically opposed to Christianity. In fact, Christianity has become the pariah of our culture in the second decade of twenty first century New Zealand. It is aligned with Far Right Extremism as being incompatible with liberalism in our time.
It is clearly apparent that in New Zealand we battling a tidal wave of liberal fervour almost identical to the leftist hysteria that is consuming the Democrats in the United States as a backlash to the election of President Donald Trump. Despite the fact that the conservative right is adopting morally defensible positions on issues like abortion where liberals are advocating abortion to the day of birth and including new born infants in some states. Whereas it would seem logical to most conservatives that we should protect the most vulnerable or preserve our cultures from the values and agendas of other ethnic and religious groups. Especially those seeking to immigrate to Western Democracies with the avowed intention to dominate them through a process of reverse assimilation. This approach from the right seems to do nothing but incense the left.
I am not for a minute suggesting we should stop holding to Christian values to placate the angry mob. Although I do think though we could look at what Jesus of Nazareth did in the gospels. The Savior tackled the establishment and left them grasping at straws but to the individuals who needed his help. To these he showed only love. He healed them, he advised them, he called them to follow him and he told them to go and sin no more.
I think we too should fight the political battles as we need too but we should not shun the lost as sinners unworthy of our time. In the last couple of years in my job as a relief teacher I have seen youngsters walking the difficult path of transgender.These young people are largely confused, unhappy and sad. They desperately want to be the opposite sex and to fit in but are not really accepted by their peers. Most staff are at pains to avoid these students other than to teach them in their curriculum area. I can only surmise that this is because they don’t want to cause offense to the transgender student by treating them differently so they avoid them. If you have a young woman in your class called Jack how do you minimise the embarrassment of simply using their name and having other students smile or even snigger. You don’t engage with them.
This often leaves these children socially isolated at school and the only support they have is from school counselors who are already over committed from dealing with other students who have more immediate behavioral issues or factors in their home environment. This leaves the deans or health and physical education teachers to assist these students who I think do a good job because most of the transgender students do settle down over time and seem happier.
The point I’m making here is that these youngsters need all the love, support and help they can get. So if we as Christians could in our personal lives actually be Christ to them and give them love and acceptance instead of the cold shoulder and a judgemental stare. Well, we might develop a relationship where we could demonstrate our Christian values as being relevant in secular society.
Lets face it the devil is never going to let up on us but in the Early Christian Church people weren’t won to the faith by judgement and condemnation but by love and compassion from Christians as brothers and sisters in the faith. Look at Pentecost and what was happening in the early Church where each shared and was given according to their need. A type of communal living which set the Church in good stead to weather intense persecution that intended to wipe Christianity from the face of the Earth in the first centuries after Christ. A situation where the blood of martyrs became the seed of the Church. The more they persecuted the early Church the more Christians there became.
My friends there is nothing wrong with pointing out the error of the world and putting forward the strong Christian values laid out in the Bible. I am simply saying make your life shine with the love of Jesus. Become that person that people seek out for godly advice. Always encouraging in them in their walk to find Jesus or to grow in the faith.
You see we tend to look at the sins of others and judge them. We see transgender or homosexual, adulterer or agnostic but we don’t look at our own sins. When have we looked at someone in anger and wished they didn’t exist. Didn’t Jesus say that if we murder in our heart that, that is murder in deed (Matthew 5: 21-22). That if we lust in our heart that, that is lust in deed (Matthew 5: 27-28). So are we any less guilty and deserving of judgement than the transgender or homosexual person.
Paul says in the book of Romans that “There is non righteous not even one.” Further “All have sinned all fall short of the glory of God.” and finally “The wages of sin is death but the freely given gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23). So we not only cannot judge others but we dare not judge them. Instead we accept them in love with open arms. We give them counsel not condemnation. We listen and we pray with them and for them that they will be chosen of God in Jesus Christ. That their sins will be forgiven and their biggest problems will be resolved into matters of little consequence before the Ancient of Days.
Finally my friends as the apostle Paul counseled us we should seek God to walk in the Spirit. “For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.”(Galatians 5:5). Which is the true purpose of our walk in faith through Jesus Christ. We are being perfected to be like him and that is why by letting his love show through us to the lost. Then through us he can speak to them and when they ask him into their lives he can perfect them through the indwelling Holy Spirit to be like him also. So stand for righteousness but reach out to those in need in love.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Galatians 5: 22-26.
By showing the love of Jesus to the World we destroy the efforts of the secular liberal elements of society as they endeavor to group Christianity with Far Right Extremism. More than that we act as salt and light to the society that we live in and we draw the lost to salvation and eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. We live in the time of the “Great Falling Away” but because of that we have a great deal of seed to sow before the tribulation time begins.
All scriptures reproduced from http://www.biblegateway.com and http://www.biblehub.com
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