This morning’s sermon started off strong.
The preacher made the point that we all belong to groups — sports teams, political parties, national identities — and that this is fine until those identities take priority over Christ.
At that point, it becomes idolatry.
I was hooked. That’s exactly the kind of challenge we need to hear in the Church.
But then — plot twist.
The next 15 minutes veered off into a political lecture: immigration policies, human rights, the American and German constitutions, the Geneva Convention, and other political documents.
By the end, I walked away knowing more about immigration law than about Jesus Christ.
Here’s the problem:
The world also believes in “love your neighbor” — which was the text for the sermon.
But when the world fails to love, it tries to fix it with new leaders, new politics, and new ideologies.
The Church, on the other hand, admits that it fails to love, and so it calls us to follow Jesus more fully.
I’m not interested in the Church echoing the world’s politics — left, right, or otherwise.
Those ideologies are still rooted in power, self-preservation, and division.
I care about Christ — and if I truly believe in Him, I’ll strive to love rightly, regardless of what party is in power or what law is on the books.
This morning’s sermon listed which government policies have failed and which ones we should support.
But here’s the thing:
That doesn’t call me to Christ.
It calls me to put my hope in the same weak, self-serving structures the world already worships.
And if the pulpit just preaches what I can already hear on the news or read in a manifesto,
then what do I need the Church for?
On Christ the solid rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand.
The world doesn’t need another opinion.
It needs the Gospel — because only Christ transforms hearts.
And changed hearts are what change the world.
