Jesus Is Our Only Hope: We Say It, Yet Our Lives Say Otherwise
Last week I
saw the third movie of the Divergent series titled Allegiant. It has struck me before that many of these
anti-government and utopian society movies strike a chord and resonate with
people because they are relevant and perhaps becoming more and more relevant.
Little by little people are waking up to the fact that the United States’
government at large is growing massively. When nearly half of the people in our
country are employed by some form of government, we know there is a larger
issue of control. Chances are that people will not vote themselves out of a
job, and as long as that is our attitude, we will be controlled by government.
Don’t hear what I am not saying. Government is good and ordained by God.
However, an oppressive government is clearly wrong, even according to the words
of scripture. Oppression, however, can be disguised as something that is good.
Oppression is any control of government that reaches far beyond the limits of
individual liberty. When that is compromised, you have government corruption.
Certainly some governments are more corrupt than others, but to deny that we,
in the United States, have any form of government corruption is to continue to
willingly live in blindness. It is not an issue of Republican or Democrat. In
fact, both parties equally contribute to corrupting our government, and to
think that we are not just as corrupt as any other government in our world or
at least have the overwhelming potential to soon be is a lie. How do we, as
Christians, handle the Son of God in our society? We are called to know him and
to make him known. Is it to be forced though? Should we make attempts at
legislation that honors God? As Christians, it is common to say that Jesus is
our only hope because surely he is. Our hope is not found in who is elected
President or who is in the legislature or on the Supreme Court. It is only in
Christ. Therefore, I would like to refer to two ways we, at large, do not honor
when we proclaim that Jesus is our only hope.
We Say Otherwise as a Society
There is at least an entertaining
election cycle happening before our eyes, which is, in fact, a reflection of
our society. Many will say that who we elect makes a difference in the direction
of our country, but I would argue that who we elect is a reflection of the
trajectory of our country. This is not to say that the direction can’t be
changed. It is a reality though and one that we must come to grips with. While
the United States is not a theocracy, our founders were mostly Christians and
based their beliefs of government on biblical principles. Principles, however,
do not imply moral law, for it is impossible to legislate morality. Still many
in our country will profess Jesus Christ, although their lives and decisions
will point to something else. In other words, it is mere lip-service. A large
number of people in our country profess Jesus Christ in word only. This is also
true in the subculture of the church. People say one thing yet live out
another. Our society is wrapped up in so many things other than Jesus Christ,
and this is true particularly in the church. We are wrapped up in things that
are important but are not enough such as social justice, health, good leaders,
education, and defense. These things, although crucial to the well-being of a
nation, are not enough. Only Jesus is enough. Jesus plus nothing equals
everything. Then we are also wrapped up in things that aren’t even important
such as money, power, and fame. In one of the most prosperous nations to ever
exist, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that nothing can satisfy but Jesus
and he is better than all else. As a society and especially as the church, we
may say that Jesus is our hope, but our decisions and actions point to
something else.
We Say Otherwise as Individuals
We also do
this as individuals. The most obvious way we do this is by worrying. We worry
about jobs, money, retirement, education, who will be elected, etc. If Jesus is
truly our only hope, why do we worry about such things? We say that our hope is
not in who we elect, yet we worry about the direction of our country if a
particular person or party is elected. This should not be. This speaks volumes
to where our actual hope is or where we at least think it is. Again who we
elect is a reflection of where we already are. We can only do so much, and our
job is not to legislate morality but to pray for and live it. This will
actually have a far greater effect on our society. People should see individual
believers whose lives reveal an unwavering hope in Jesus Christ and not in
anything other than that.
Conclusion
Everything
but Jesus Christ will fail us. For that reason, we must not only say that our
only hope is in him, but we must also live it. Our actions, our security, and
our decisions must reflect this truth, for he truly is our only hope.
