*The article below is a perfect example of purpose, and what this website was created to bring together. It is also a description of how ideals are to be generated and sought after. My dad writes articles for our town's weekly newpaper, and I found it as an appropriate way to convey our purpose and what matters in life. The article describes the proper way we are to work together with honesty and integrity.
Being Right, and Yet Being So Wrong
"[...] I can get rather heated when people are so ignorant. A quote attributed to John Wayne says, 'Life is hard, it's harder if you're stupid'. [...] It's so frustrating when you believe you have some wisdom to share and no one will listen or they don't agree with you. How can you change the direction of the nation when you are surrounded by so many idiots? Then I thought about what Jesus' response would be. Can you imagine the potential mess He could have had with the apostles He chose? Some were brothers, which doesn't always bode well for harmony in a group. Some were shy, others were very bold and loud. Some were business men, and some were mere employees. Some had access to places of power, others were nobodies in the eyes of the world. Some were instant believers, and some were doubters until the last. But the greatest gulf between disciples was that of Simon the Zealot, and Matthew the tax collector. Yet, Jesus called them all to be by His side, together as Apostles. Can you imagine the tension between Simon and Matthew? At first, they must have hated each other. Simon, as a member of the Zealot political party, believed he served God best by killing the enemies of God. The biggest enemy in his mind was the Roman government. Simon, no doubt, thought Matthew to be a big traitor to his own people. It would be a service to God to have him assassinated. Jesus chose these two opposites on purpose and brought them together under one banner--His.
We will always have people in the church who have opposing political ideas. Jesus has willed it that way. He calls all kinds of different people. They may even look and act weird to us. They come with different thinking patterns at first. They believe what they believe because of something that they have seen in life that has shaped them in some way. But when we both change our focus and start looking to Jesus, things change. Enemies become friends, personal agendas become shared agendas because it is no longer ours, but His. At the end of three and a half years, did Simon or Matthew change their political philosophy? Probably a little. Did they ever see eye to eye on it? Probably not. But one things changed, they were not so concerned about getting it right as they were about caring, loving, and respecting each other. They were more concerned about what Jesus taught than what their circumstances or peer groups thought. And most of all, their focus wasn't so much about establishing the nation of Israel, or whether to serve serve or not serve the Roman government, as it was about establishing a kingdom of righteousness where Jesus would reign as King of Kings. They sought to advance His kingdom more than to advance a political party or an earthly kingdom. They sought a truth found in God's Word, not in their own political learnings. And if they still didn't see eye to eye, they would determine to love and respect each other anyway, just like Jesus did for them. Let's not think we are so right at the expense of being so wrong in our relationships."
-Pastor Allen Refsland
(article published in Wadena Pioneer Journal)
We will always have people in the church who have opposing political ideas. Jesus has willed it that way. He calls all kinds of different people. They may even look and act weird to us. They come with different thinking patterns at first. They believe what they believe because of something that they have seen in life that has shaped them in some way. But when we both change our focus and start looking to Jesus, things change. Enemies become friends, personal agendas become shared agendas because it is no longer ours, but His. At the end of three and a half years, did Simon or Matthew change their political philosophy? Probably a little. Did they ever see eye to eye on it? Probably not. But one things changed, they were not so concerned about getting it right as they were about caring, loving, and respecting each other. They were more concerned about what Jesus taught than what their circumstances or peer groups thought. And most of all, their focus wasn't so much about establishing the nation of Israel, or whether to serve serve or not serve the Roman government, as it was about establishing a kingdom of righteousness where Jesus would reign as King of Kings. They sought to advance His kingdom more than to advance a political party or an earthly kingdom. They sought a truth found in God's Word, not in their own political learnings. And if they still didn't see eye to eye, they would determine to love and respect each other anyway, just like Jesus did for them. Let's not think we are so right at the expense of being so wrong in our relationships."
-Pastor Allen Refsland
(article published in Wadena Pioneer Journal)
