It is the desire of God that no one perish
We are apparently living in a time when even our sacred institutions — e.g. our churches — are eroding away from the holiness they espouse. Who would have imagined that the Roman Catholic Church would suddenly discover so many priests and other workers who have sexually molested the people under their authority, especially the young boys? Or, who would have even given a thought to the ultraconservative Southern Baptist Convention also discovering that there have been entirely too many times when those in authority have become sexually involved with those in their congregations who trusted them explicitly? It appears that this was the number one issue facing the Southern Baptists as they met in June of this year. Both Roman Catholics and Southern Baptists have organized groups specifically designed to deal with these allegations.
Add to the above the growing hatred and distrust many white Americans are showing toward other religious groups and you have an issue greater than both the Roman Catholics and Southern Baptists combined. In addition, the title “alien” has come to mean something entirely different than just someone who has moved to the United States. They are constantly referred to as gangsters, drug users and sex traffickers. And yet, there are over 10 million illegal aliens living in our country who are good, law-abiding citizens. Contrary to popular opinion, these aliens also are not just from Mexico, whose citizens now comprise less than half of our aliens.
It’s interesting to note some of the things that the Bible says about these things. Faced with the ungodly actions of the kings of Judah, Jeremiah 22:3 says on behalf of God: “This is what the Lord says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place( N IV ).” The Bible also has the Apostle Paul in the New Testament making the statement in Romans 12:21, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (NIV ).”
The Rev. Dr. Lee B. Spitzer, general secretary of the American Baptist Churches USA, recently made the statement: “In the past six months, American synagogues in Pittsburgh and Poway (Calif.) have been attacked and members killed by hate-filled gunmen. In both cases, anti-Semitism was a motive. In New Zealand, two Muslim mosques suffered horrendous loss of life at the hands of a white nationalist, while in California a driver intentionally targeted Muslims and has been charged with eight counts of attempted murder. In January, a bombing of a Catholic church in Jolo, Philippines, killed 20 people. On Easter morning, hundreds of Christians were murdered and injured in a coordinated set of bombings throughout Sri Lanka. Since March 26, three African-American churches have been burned down in Louisiana.”
In response, Spitzer challenged all Baptists to stand in sincere sympathy with all people who suffer violence, injury and harm, regardless of religion, race, gender, culture or ethnicity. He pointed out that the Baptist tradition has been to oppose terrorism, violence and hateful ideologies.
It usually isn’t easy to like, let alone love someone who is different than you, but that is exactly what the Bible is teaching. As I understand it, all of us have our genealogies traced back to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. I have had the privilege of tracing my own genealogy back into England, and have discovered that everyone who has my last name is related to me. Every so often, I meet someone with my last name and have them ask about it. They are mildly surprised when I point out that we are actually cousins. All of us are related and worthy of both God’s love and our own.
I both read the book and saw the movie by William P. Young entitled “The Shack.” I am aware that some folks don’t like the book, but I have found it fascinating. I especially like the dialogue the main character had with Jesus while sitting on the dock looking at the stars. He asked Jesus if he had really made all of the stars, and Jesus replied that it had been a lot of fun. Then, the main character pointed out to Jesus that Christians believed such and such, and while Jesus affirmed much of what was said, he questioned the use of the term Christians. He pointed out that he did not come into the world just to save Christians, but rather the whole population of the world. Unfortunately, that is something people tend to forget. It is the desire of God that no one perish, but that everyone — no matter what his or her religion, gender, nationality, or any other differences happen to be — shall be redeemed by the power of God in Jesus Christ.