September 2, 2014
Dear St. Paul’s Family,
A few weeks ago, Keith Fee, a member of our church, dropped off an interesting item for me and the girls to read. It was a collection of questions that his wife, Bu, had to study in order to earn her U.S. citizenship many years ago. My older daughter Grace is taking civics at school this year, so we had a good time going through the questions to see how many of them we could answer.
While I’m relieved to say that we could answer most of them correctly, I have to admit that some of them were real doozies. Can you name one of the four writers of The Federalist Papers? Do you know in what year the Constitution was written? Or how many amendments it has? Can you define “rule of law”? [1]
If you can’t, you’re not alone. I came across a video on the internet that was both humorous and depressing. It was a street interview with several American-born citizens trying to answer basic questions from the naturalization test. They didn’t do very well. [2]
Maybe it’s too easy to take our citizenship for granted. For those of us who were born here, it’s possible to get by with minimal knowledge of civics, and marginal participation in civic life. Just looking at voter turnout for off-year elections is ample proof of that.
And the preacher in me wants to take it one step further. Consider that Paul calls us citizens of a different kind in Philippians 3:20: we are citizens of the kingdom of God. I would dare say that as easy as it is to take our national citizenship for granted, it is even easier to neglect our responsibilities to the Christian faith.
Look at the nationwide decline in worship attendance, the drop in church membership, and the general illiteracy of scriptural and theological basics, and you’ll find that the church is full of people who could use a remedial course in kingdom citizenship.
One of our core convictions as Wesleyan Christians is that salvation is not marked by a finish line, but a progress line. We need to always be working on deepening and maturing our spiritual knowledge and practice so that we can never lapse into a complacency of apathetic citizenship. That process, governed and nurtured by the Holy Spirit, is called sanctification. It’s what keeps you from taking your kingdom citizenship for granted.
Consider this witness by Richard Graves, an 18th century American Methodist who described his descent into spiritual complacency:
It has been about twenty years since I have been acquainted with the goodness of God, and nearly the same time since I had reason to believe that I stood in a state of acceptance with God…My faith was strong, but, though I saw believingly such a fullness in God’s word and had such a taste and relish for spiritual things, yet I was not established in the faith.
Eventually, Richard Graves began to awaken from his spiritual slumber, with a thirst and hunger to grow deeper:
The language of my heart was, “Give me love or else die.” Indeed God did create in me such a hungering and thirsting after perfect love that nothing could satisfy but God himself. For near four weeks I felt such keen pain within, that I could almost say, I prayed without ceasing, but with little joy.
And then, a breakthrough:
It was on Monday, the second day of July 1799, that the Lord poured down his blessing into my heart. In the evening my happiness increased till I went to bed, with raptures of joy unknown….In a few days my rapture of joy abated, and I had some temptation and struggle. Not that I had any reason to doubt of the work being wrought, but if it was consistent with such a work of grace for me to have such feelings, but I soon discovered the device of the enemy to rob me of my confidence, and the Lord multiplied my peace. I now, notwithstanding temptations, feel the abiding witness. My mind is stayed on God. Christ is my object. I am willing to take him for my portion. He is the fairest among ten thousand. He is altogether lovely. [3]
That remarkable moment of transformation took place in 1799, when Graves was 85 years old. After decades of being a minister himself, and a mere five years before he died.
If it wasn’t too late for Graves to renew his passion for God, it’s not too late for you.
Regardless of where we each are in our faith journeys, we could all use a refresher course in kingdom citizenship. As we start the fall season and resume our regular morning schedule this Sunday, I hope you’ll make an extra effort to reaffirm your vows to support the church through your prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. Worship with us regularly. Become involved in a small group Bible study or Sunday school class. Realign your financial priorities around the kingdom. Reach out in love and concern to others. Read your Bible with both heart and mind. And develop a daily pattern of prayer.
May your mind be “stayed on God,” and may you discover how “altogether lovely” it is to be a citizen of this kingdom.
Grace and Peace,
Magrey
The Rev. Magrey R. deVegaSt. Paul's United Methodist Church
531 W. Main St.
Cherokee, IA 51012
Ph: 712-225-3955
Email: mdevega@sp-umc.org
531 W. Main St.
Cherokee, IA 51012
Ph: 712-225-3955
Email: mdevega@sp-umc.org
[3] Early Methodist Life and Spirituality: A Reader. Lester Ruth
No comments:
Post a Comment