THE FORMING FORCES

Recently in the night I heard this word: “The political forces are forming the spiritual content and context for Christians… instead of the spiritual forces forming the content and context of the political, cultural and social.” I think much of this has happened since exaggerated movements in the last 30 years have tried to combine politics and religion. It seems it has only made Christianity more secular and politics more vague. As the great G K Chesterton (1874-1936) wrote, “Once abolish the God, and the government becomes the God.”

How do we change the forming forces? I think by unchanging focus on the gospel of Jesus Christ as a message and secondly as a movement. In a recent note to a friend I wrote: “It seems the leaders of the revolution are any of us who will uncompromisingly live the gospel of Jesus on a daily basis in front of our families, friends and fellow workers. The Big Thing is done by doing the Little Thing well.”

This reminded me of one of the famous quotes of legendary basketball coach John Wooden (1910-2010):
“What is right is more important than who is right.”

The Forming Force must be what is right. The Kingdom of God is what is right.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Jesus