Jan. 17, 2021, column:
In turbulent world, love each other while we wait for our true home
By
Mike Haynes
The political and social chaos going
on in the United States – on top of a year of dealing with a pandemic – has
much of the population anxious entering 2021. And more than 74 million
Americans who didn’t vote for the next White House resident worry what policies
will emerge from Washington.
For some of us, even with millions
already getting a virus vaccine, it’s a scary time.
Actress Patricia Heaton, known
primarily as Debra in “Everybody Loves Raymond” and as Frankie in “The Middle,”
concisely reminded believers in Christ that they shouldn’t worry. On Jan. 8,
she tweeted:
"If you’re a common sense person, you probably don’t feel you have a home in this world right now. If you’re a Christian, you know you were never meant to."
Heaton’s reasoning stems from Bible
verses such as Philippians 3:20, which says, “For our citizenship is in
heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
(New RSV)
Someone
disagreed, tweeting that this world certainly is his home, and Heaton responded:
"Respectfully, this world is
only temporary. I love many things here too, and yes, we are called to love our
neighbor and be good stewards. But this ain’t it."
She later added, “We are meant to
serve Christ while we are here.”
My friend Mark in Florida keeps
reminding me that whatever our politics, God is in control, including of how
things will turn out in the end. That belief reminds me of some Bible verses I
learned long ago as part of a memory system created by the Navigators, a
Christian ministry. Maybe some of these that show God’s attributes and his
expectations will be comforting and/or encouraging. They are in the Revised
Standard Version, the Bible I was using at the time:
His strength:
“Fear
not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I
will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.” (Isaiah
41:10)
His faithfulness:
“The
steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come
to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23)
“God
is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should repent. Has he said, and will
he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfil it?” (Numbers 23:19)
His peace:
“Thou
dost keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusts
in thee.” (Isaiah 26:3)
“Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you.” 1 Peter 5:7
His provision:
“He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all,
will he not also give us all things with him?” (Romans 8:32)
“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his
riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)
Another verse that supports the idea that Christians should
be different from society is Romans 12:2: “Do not be conformed to this
world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove
what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Other passages indicate that believers are not to sit around
dreaming of the afterlife. Although good works don’t save us, God does want us
to do them:
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your
good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)
“And let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we
shall reap, if we do not lose heart.” (Galatians 6:9)
Finally, there’s a word that we toss around every day, but
from recent events, you wouldn’t know it’s important. Jesus used it in his two
greatest commandments in regard to our relationship to God and to others. And
in John 13:34-35, he said:
“A
new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved
you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you
are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Love
is something we can give to every person we encounter in this world while we
wait for our true home.
