United States (MNN) — Protests over U.S. immigration raids have continued in Los Angeles since Friday, even after the controversial deployment of the National Guard and Marines to quell those protests.
“Certainly, it is disturbing and troubling, all of these things we have had over the last several years — many moments of national anger and issues between people,” says Ron Hutchcraft with Hutchcraft Ministries. “The extreme feelings are the ones that seem to rule on all sides.”
No matter how this unfolds or what future history accounts say about current headlines, we may be overlooking a “Kingdom of God” perspective.
“The question to ask ourselves [as followers of Christ] is, ‘Am I taking my cue as to how I’m going to feel and act from the headlines, from events, from comments on social media … or am I going to go with the Holy Spirit?’” Hutchcraft says.
If Jesus is your personal Lord and Savior, you have a clear calling from 2 Corinthians 5:20. “It says we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making his appeal through us: be reconciled to God,” Hutchcraft quotes. “What an incredible honor we carry!”
Living as representatives of Christ in times like these
Here are five questions Hutchcraft has asked himself:
1. Am I praying for our country and for our leaders as Scripture commands? (1 Timothy 2:1-2)
“Don’t underestimate when you go to the throne room of Almighty God who rules the universe and billions of galaxies,” Hutchcraft says. “When you go to Him in prayer, you are impacting whatever you are praying for. There is no doubt about that.”
2. Am I basing my relationships with people in my world on anything other than the unconditional love of Christ? (Ephesians 4:31)
“[When] you step into that [chaotic world] with the love of Christ that says, ‘I’m not going to decide my love for you based on how much we agree, or how agreeable you are, or how you treat me. I’m going to treat you like Jesus treated me,’ you are part of the answer at that point, and so am I,” says Hutchcraft.
3. Do I see people as a category, or do I see them as valuable individual creations of God, created in His image?
4. Am I doing or saying anything that does not represent my Jesus? (Colossians 3:17)
5. Have I let any cause other than Jesus’ rescue orders become more important to me? Or am I defined by any cause other than the mission of Jesus? (1 Corinthians 9:12)
(Image courtesy of Ron Hutchcraft Ministries)
“Jesus said He had come to seek and save the lost. He said, ‘Go and take the gospel to everyone in creation.’ I wonder if the things that we are bombarded with by news media and on social media have taken over more of our heart[s], time, and passions than the very cause for which Christ gave His life. Because when all of this is over, what will be left is people in eternity, forever in one of two places,” Hutchcraft says.
If other things have crowded God’s call out of focus for you, would you ask Him for a course correction? Hutchcraft encourages a simple prayer for realignment: “I’m sorry, God. I have allowed some of the magnets of our time to pull me away from things that matter the most, and I want you to bring me back.”
Believers have a powerful opportunity to bring hope as the news gets darker.
“Let’s not miss this opportunity, and let’s make that our passion: to let people see the hope of Jesus in us, instead of the despair and anxiety of a culture around us,” he says.
The header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of Lara Jameson via Pexels.
