The Christian faith has traded the politics of Jesus for the politics of the world. We don't believe in the church in more but we do believe our political leaders can do more for change than anything else in this world. So it's becoming more difficult to see where American Christians faith ends and their politics begin. We have traded our spiritual birthright for a pottage of political stew. People can believe for example that the Presidential elections will have huge ramifications on our society for ill or for good. At the end of the day, we believe the political pundits, spin-doctors, and talking political heads that if we just elect one more "right" political leader, a better America is not far behind.
When it comes to the politics of our day, empty symbols and style mean more than substance. And yet God's Word is filled with symbols that are full of substance if we only had eyes to see. How is it we seem to not appreciate paradox, hyperbole, and poetry anymore? One of my favorite Christian poets is T. S. Eliot, listen to his words from his "Four Quartets."
In order to posses what you do not posses,
You must go by the way of dispossession,
In order to arrive at what you are not
You must go through the way in which you are not.
And what you do not know is the only thing you know.
Can you hear it? Not with your physical ears but with your spiritual heart. Do you sense the blazing holiness of God and your own little significance in light of God's? Do you taste God's goodness and feel his presence? We prefer style and looks over substance and reality. It makes no demands on our lives. But when we truly understand the substance of God's symbols on our lives, then nothing can remain the same!
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