Or
in the words of the German theologian Gerhard Lohfink, "It is true that Jesus
never called for a political, revolutionary transformation of Jewish society.
Yet the repentance which he demanded as a consequence of his preaching of the
reign of God sought to ignite within the people of God a movement in comparison
to which the normal type of revolution is insignificant."
The
revolution Jesus started — and the revolution I live for — is a revolution that
overcomes hatred with love, violence with compassion, and lies with truth.
But
make no mistake about it: It is a radical revolution that brings about radical
change, and as followers of Jesus, we are to be agents of radical change.
Where
we see slavery and human trafficking, we are called to address it.
Where
we see the slaughter of the unborn and the assault on human dignity, we are
called to address it.
Where
we see sexual anarchy and the deterioration of morality, we are called to
address it.
If
we don't, who will? If we are not the salt of the earth and the light of the
world (see Matthew 5:13-16), who will be?
If
we don't take the lead in standing for justice in society, if we don't take the
lead in modeling godly marriages and family life, if we don't take the lead in
advocating for what is right and opposing what is wrong, who will?
Some
would say, "You're mixing politics with religion."
In
reply I would say, "You're separating religion from daily life."
Some
would say, "Jesus simply taught us to go and make disciples."
In
reply I would ask, "But how do disciples live?"
My
own life was dramatically impacted by two revolutions, one very negative and one
very positive.
The
first was the counterculture revolution of the 60s, when I plunged headlong into
decadence and rebellion, playing drums in a rock band, using LSD at the age of
14 and shooting heroin at the age of 15.
Although
I was bar mitzvahed in 1968 as a Conservative Jew, for me, it was more of a
cultural event than a spiritual event. The more impactful event that took place
that year — and I was just 13 at the time — was seeing the Jimi Hendrix
Experience in concert.
Everything
about the band — the sound and volume of the music, their flamboyant dress and
hair styles, the message of the songs and the message of their lives — called
out to me, and I followed along, quickly falling into the rebellion and anarchy
that marked that era.
But
in 1971, I was impacted by a very different revolution, the Jesus Revolution,
featured in a famous Time
Magazine cover story in June of that same year.
Suddenly,
around America and even around the globe, hippies, radicals, and rebels were
getting dramatically converted, giving themselves to Jesus even more fervently
than they had given themselves to sex, drugs, rock and roll, and Eastern
religion.
The
impact on my life was nothing less than revolutionary.
Giving
up drugs virtually overnight is revolutionary. Following Jesus as a Jew is
revolutionary. Going from Led Zeppelin and the Grateful Dead to the Word of
God — the Bible — is revolutionary.
But
the revolution cannot stop there. It must go beyond each of us individually to
touch the world around us — the poor, the hurting, the lost, the confused, the
rebellious, and the defiant.
We
must stand boldly for the truth of the gospel, not as advocates of a theocracy,
as if we were seeking to forcibly impose biblical morality and faith on everyone
else — that is not what we are about and that is not what we advocate.
But
we must stand boldly and without shame as witnesses to the fact that God's ways
are best, that they are ways of life and hope and restoration and freedom.
A
leading socialist in the 1920s once said: "We socialists would have nothing to
do if you Christians had continued the revolution begun by Jesus."
To
each of you I say: Let's get on with the Jesus revolution. If ever it was
needed, it is today.
Read
more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/revolution-is-in-my-blood-177568/#P24pvUkpOihW6QH2.99
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