How does the cross inform our response to the Supreme Court’s ruling on gay marriage? What do we do as it becomes increasingly apparent that we can no longer claim The United States as a Christian country?
The response to the Supreme Court ruling has been wide-spread and predictable. Liberals have lauded the court, conservatives have chided the court, and social media has been awash with lots of conversation, some helpful, some hurtful, some well-informed and some that seems to be uninformed. Of course the most predictable of all of the responses is the unique ability of we as a culture to talk at and past one another without ever engaging each other on issues that matter.
It is pretty obvious to me that the Supreme Court’s ruling and majority opinion was shoddily prepared and defended. In fact, I would not be surprised to see the majority opinion rooted in teh 14th amendment come back to bite them in ways they have not anticipated. I also must confess that I believe that Christians have a responsibility to engage in the public sphere through intelligent arguments and the political process. For instance, I am thankful for Russ Moore and the work of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the SBC.
But, how much good have we done if we change the morals of our country without chaning the hearts of her citizens?
Though we should be concerned for the immoral and illogical turn of our government on this issue, we should be ever more concerned for the men and women who live under the grip of sin that blinds their eyes to the truth. We are not a moral majority, but a missional minority and our primary goal is fulfilling the Great Commission issued to us by our King.
King Jesus sent us into the world to love our neighbor as our self and to make disciples of those neighbors. We can retreat from the world or preach against the world or engage the world with the powerful life-changing gospel of Jesus. There is a place and time for public discourse and governemenal involvement, but it is always the time for Christians to share the gospel.
Governments that are hostile to the gospel are not new in the history of Christianity. Even in America, governmental resistance to biblical truths are not new (chattel slavery, Jim Crow laws, legalized abortion, etc…). We can lament the shape of our government and our country, or we can pray for our neighbors, our leaders, and each other (1 Timothy 2:1-3). We can gripe on facebook and point out the flaws of those who disagree with us or we can befriend them and show them the love of Christ. [bctt tweet=”Non-Christians are not the enemy, they are our target audience.”]
Let’s get busy. Give Them Jesus!
