Well, the political jargon is on the rise. Today, even Pope Francis got involved.
He said, “A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not a Christian. This is not the Gospel.” He was responding to a question about Trump’s promise to build a wall between Mexico and the United States.
And of course, good ol’ Turbulent Trump wasn’t about to let that slide. After all, he’s the epitome of Christian character; everyone knows that. His response? “For a religious leader to question a person’s faith is disgraceful.”
Brilliant.
I think Trump’s response is not only silly, but totally unfounded in the scriptures. But what should I expect from a guy who CLAIMS to be a Christian, but in real life acts as though he believes HE is God.
My opinion, folks. My opinion.
Anyone, like Mr. Trump, who says in essence, “I’ve never felt the need to repent”, doesn’t understand what a Christian is.
On the other hand, I don’t believe the Gospel is about building bridges, either.
It IS ABOUT God building a bridge between mankind and HIMSELF. Jesus Christ is THE BRIDGE; the Divine Intercessor. The One Who took our place on the cross, so we could have eternal fellowship with the Father God.
One Mediator between God and man; the man, Christ Jesus.
“For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity – the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time.” (1 Timothy 2:5-6 NLT)
“For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” (2 Corinthians 5:19-21 NLT)
Questioning one’s faith is not something new to this election cycle. In fact, it began way back, about 6,000 years ago. Just outside the Garden of Eden, God questioned Cain’s faith. He received Abel’s offering, but ignored Cain’s. And it caused Cain’s true heart to be revealed.
It is amazing what can be revealed simply by telling someone “NO”.
David questioned the faith of those who said they wanted to help him become the king of all Israel, not just Judah.
Paul questioned the faith of Peter, in Galatians chapter 2.
It was Paul who also said, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:8-9 ESV)
In other words, the illustrious Mr. Trump doesn’t know any more about God’s word than he does about giving speeches that aren’t laced with some level of profanity.
But, like Jesus said, “By their fruits you shall know them.” Fruits = actions, not words.
There are some who say faith isn’t important when it comes to electing a president for the land of the free. But is that really so? And if it is, shouldn’t we question a person’s faith?
A person, whether a president or a hamburger flipper, lives in accordance to what they believe. What they believe affects the way they interact with others, the decisions they make, whether or not they can learn from someone else, how they judge others, and HOW THE GOVERN.
So a person who ACTS as though they can NEVER be wrong about ANYTHING isn’t one who would make a very good president.
Again, my opinion.
Trump for President? Nah. I don’t believe he’ll do all he’s promised, because I don’t believe he really WANTS to do all he’s promised.
He claims one thing, but lives completely different.
As for the Pope? Well, he does have a large audience, but I don’t think we need a bridge built between the south and the north.
There’s already a superhighway.
Jan Grace 