Scriptures: Revelation 21:1-6; John 13:31-35
Key Verse: “Look! Look! God has moved into the neighborhood, making His home with men and women! They’re His people. He is their God. He’ll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good -tears gone, crying gone, pain gone-all the first order of things gone.” (Revelation 21:4)
Jesus was a game changer in his time. His teachings and ministries challenge and stretch people’s understanding of God, God’s people, and God’s kingdom for good and for all. Besides Jesus, what comes to mind when you hear the idiom “game changer?“
Several things come to my mind such as the internet, technology, and human rights movements. These three factors have made significant impacts on us in the last century.
For instance, the internet has increased our interactions with people around the world. It also has helped us cross many barriers such as online shopping and sharing information instantly. However, the internet as a game changer has been misused to create hate and conflicts.
How about technology? New technology has improved our lifestyles and our cultures. We all have benefited from the inventions of the telephone, television, computer, airplane, spaceship and satellite, to name a few. They all are amazing inventions, but for sure not the atomic bomb or gas chambers.
How about human rights movements for marginalized communities? Human rights movements have forced us to examine our own biases and prejudices. There is a Chinese saying which has to do with the principle of life. It says:＂有Yǒu 福fú 同 tóng 享xiǎng，有Yǒu 難nián 同 tóng 當dāng,” meaning, doing life together for better and for worse. It is a promise or a covenant well said by best buddies. While many would support human rights movements because of this principle of life saying, there are still people who would hold on tighter to the caste system out of fear and insecurity.
Undeniably, there are many horrible historical events attributed to Christianity as well. For instance, how Christian slave holders used the Bible to justify slavery, how the church used uncontextualized theology from the scriptures to eliminate female leadership roles and to curse or to guilt the LGBTQI+ communities.
Someone or something can be game changers because they hold values that standout to not just a few people but the majority of people in any given context. So, all good and bad events have to do with what values each game changer holds.
Last week I mentioned that the Greatest Commandment, which all Jesus’ followers are commanded to abide by, is a core value that stands out among many religious beliefs. Our core value, loving God and oneself as others, is a life-giving principle, isn’t it? Why do we still see people resenting Christianity so much?
It was about 7 years ago when I joined several pastors to receive a 6 month of training from the Metropolitan Chicago Synod that I belonged to. One great takeaway was the alignment in the process of strategic plans’ implementation. We can say all we want about our values, but if our behaviors and faith stories do not align with our values, what’s the use of having values?
Jesus himself even said that when we align what we do and say with our core values, the outsiders are able to tell we are his disciples belonging to God. It's not only for people to recognize Jesus' followers but also acts as a compass for newcomers to learn the new way of life so that God’s kingdom can become more visible and real to all.
And what does this new way of life lead us to see and to experience? As it is said in Revelation 21:4, we all will live in the neighborhood where God has moved into. Since God is making everything new, there will be no more tears, pain, and death. What a glorious place to be. We have a God of not one nation but all nations, and God’s people are birthed not through any particular tradition or culture but through believing. The best part is that God’s kingdom is a place for the living, now and then, not a far unreachable place or only until we die.
With the power of the Holy Spirit, may we continue living a new changed life that is aligned with the Greatest Commandment, and may our interactions with others be driven by God’s love. Amen.
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