I’m Getting Tired of This
In this post, I’m going to touch on politics a smidgen without going too far into it. I’m learning to be less like Terry Goodkind (not shade, it’s just he was overt) as an author when it comes to politics.
But I’m tired of this stealing Jesus for our rhetoric that both sides do.
Recent comments from the Secretary of War border on blasphemous.
He said:
“Shot down on a Friday — Good Friday—hidden in a cave, a crevice — all of Saturday and rescued on Sunday. Flown out of Iran as the sun was rising on Easter Sunday, a pilot reborn. All home and accounted for. A nation rejoicing. God is good.”
While I believe that flying fighter jets is one of the coolest professions in the world, and sometimes pilots almost rightfully have a god-complex-sized ego for how cool that job is, this is a ridiculous comparison.
We should all stay humble, and that was a sprinkle of truth with sarcasm.
I’ve often also said jokingly in religious discussions that mainstream Christians can’t count to three.
If you do the math, the typical timeline is not three days and three nights.
Yeshua was likely crucified on a Wednesday before the high Sabbath of the first day of Unleavened Bread. He most likely still rose on Sunday, but the timeline actually works with a Wednesday crucifixion far better.
This is a matter of intense debate, and Jewish idioms about parts of the day aside, it’s worth noting.
Mainstream Christians often don’t understand the Feasts of Yahweh because they’ve often been told the Tanakh is of little value to a Christian other than proving Jesus is the Messiah.
Whether it was on Friday or on Wednesday is a moot point overall, though.
I believe comparing a downed pilot to Jesus is borderline blasphemous.
We must all be born again. That’s fine.
But Jesus is above our petty discourse, and while He sovereignly might use wars to accomplish His purposes for history, we shouldn’t use Christ like this.
His kingdom is from another dimension beyond the cosmos.
It is not of the Earth.
Therefore, I don’t support Christian nationalism.
Jesus is not ruling the cosmos to make America any greater than any other nation.
All nations are here because He decided their borders long ago. The Tanakh tells us that God divided the nations and set their boundaries as a matter of His will.
Germany was always meant to be Germany. Japan was always meant to have the culture it does. Australia has kangaroos because God willed it.
If America is blessed, it is because of His grace and favor for staying righteous in the face of evil, and it prospers because of God alone. But just as we prosper, we might also be sent down to Gehenna if we falter.
No nation is exempt from this. Look at God’s chosen nation, Israel. Persecuted for much of history for the leadership rejecting the Messiah the first time.
If He doesn’t spare them, why would He spare America?
We need to remain humble and help other nations when injustice is overtaking good people.
But righteous nations take care of their own, too.
Jesus is not MAGA. He’s not a Democrat, and He certainly isn’t taking sides with modern political labels across the spectrum. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
His kingdom spans trillions of galaxies, so our minor squabbles and appropriations of His name are like grains of sand compared to the entire amount of water on Earth. He rules over comets and black holes.
To take someone so grand and reduce Him to a slogan is not the way.
To compare a rescue operation to the crucifixion is tasteless at best.
May you have many blessings and shalom.
