Reflections on Sunday - morning and evening

How many thoughts can one person have about an issue? Apparently more than I can count. The events of Sunday evening in Pakistan have caused many in our nation and around the world to speak, reflect, rejoice, condemn, criticize, politicize and more. I've been reading and thinking and praying and talking with others about if and how Cornerstone Church should or could say something. The excellent staff here helped me clarify that today through some good wrestling with issues and approaches. I thank God for their presence and impact in my life.

I decided to use this blog instead of a Sunday message but we will say a few words this weekend as well.

The question that I believe is most relevant to us is this: what does a Biblical worldview tell me about my thoughts and response to the death of Bin Laden? What is the Christian worldview of the death of a terrorist?

I've read posts and tweets and blogs and commentaries that have taken every viewpoint imaginable. Some look at these events through the lenses of politics. Some are wearing emotional lenses. Others see through Biblical lenses that take up one verse or another while ignoring the whole. Some have chosen to look through both lenses, using the whole counsel of God in His Word.

My purpose here isn't to tell anyone what is THE right worldview or even the right Bibilical worldview. I do want to challenge us to have a Biblical worldview, to look at the circumstances of our lives and our world through the lens of Scripture and not from our personal preferences or political leanings. Scripture is not one verse. It's Genesis to Revelation.

With a Biblical worldview I'm reminded of the core issue - Jesus versus sin. It's not a battle fought with military weapons but with spiritual ones. The best SEAL team in the world can't win this battle. Our world is fallen and no military action can cure that.

A Biblical worldview makes me ask if my heart is in agreement with God's heart. There are instances of wiping out enemies as well instruction to pray for enemies. God's heart is grieved about 9/11 and every death that has occurred since - the obscure tribal native in the jungles of South America to the most recent casualty in Afghanistan or Syria or the streets of Cincinnati. The only time I see God rejoicing in Scripture is when a sinner turns to Christ. He throws lavish parties for the undeserving because their hearts have turned to Him.

A Biblical worldview reminds me that God is not a citizen of the United States. We don't have a status like that of Israel in their covenant with God in the Old Testament (way too little space to flesh that out and not the main point anyway). Therefore I can't look through the lens of nationalism. 

A Biblical worldview causes me to ask personal questions as I interpret world events: Where am I pursuing the Light of Christ, to make Him known? Where do I need to resist evil and temptation in my own life? What does my response say to others about the Lord I serve?

My heart is thankful for well-trained SEALS who protect and fight for my freedoms. I'm grateful that I live in a nation like ours where freedom is valued. I'm thankful that a source of evil has been silenced even while I'm not jumping with joy that a human being is dead most likely without Christ. I'm grieved that we may look no different than those who would burn American flags and cheer at the death of thousands.

In the end it's a question of my heart and what my actions say about my Lord. I want to reflect His heart to the world and I have to start at home, in my community, in my nation and in my world.

So Church, wrestle with your worldview. Is it Biblical? Is it Christ-centered?