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Bipartisanship
Brian Mashburn
November 20, 2016
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Bipartisanship
As of the writing of this article, I'm continuing my swim in some of the beautiful stories and texts found in scripture concerning the Kingdom of God.
I recommend it with this guarantee: It will reveal things to you that you have not ever considered (big, central things), and it will be better than what you currently think Christianity is.
So this week, I'm comparing kingdoms - the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of the World - as they are described in scripture, especially by the disciple John.
As I share some of my study with you this morning, I pray that this somehow translates into your continued Kingdom formation into the likeness of our King.
I pray for your clarity on this: Kingdom citizens approach the world a certain way. I want you to be unintimidated and gentle with yourself as you sense any distance between this Kingdom way and your way.
I also pray for your clarity on this: Kingdom citizens of the Kingdom recognize each other, not by what church denomination they attend, political party they support, or by distinguishing differences between "us" and "them." Rather, we recognize each other by the work we are engaged in (justice, mercy, faithfulness), and the fruit we produce (peace, joy, righteousness). You have more allies than you think. Kingdom citizens look for all that they have in common with those around them and celebrate and unify around that (bipartisanship), not what they differ in and confront and argue about that (partisanship).
I can safely put these two revelations together (our posture towards the world + our posture toward each other) with a phrase of our King that Christians must judge themselves by: "They will know us by our love."