The How I Can Know Book

Published: Jan. 21, 2021, midnight

b'I get super nervous whenever I talk about politics. My whole body feels like I\\u2019m preparing for battle.\\nBut Jesus has been helping me view these discussions differently: to see these conversations as opportunities to love my neighbor by practicing empathy, humility, and compassion. He\\u2019s shown me there are people who love Him and His Word\\u2014people who are my brothers and sisters in Christ\\u2014who fall all over the political spectrum.\\nAnd that\\u2019s okay. As Christians, we don\\u2019t all have to agree about politics, because, ultimately, our identity isn\\u2019t defined by our political views. Our identity is found in Jesus. And, while Jesus does shape how we view politics, Christians will sometimes disagree about the actions we should take in dealing with problems in this broken world.\\nPracticing God\\u2019s command to love our neighbor during political discussions is HARD. It\\u2019s easy to fall into the temptation of putting our identities in our political views instead of putting our identities in Christ. When we remember we are defined by Jesus\\u2019 life, death, and resurrection, we are freed to love our neighbors better. Suddenly, if they don\\u2019t agree with our politics, it doesn\\u2019t feel like a personal attack.\\nIf the person we\\u2019re talking to is another Christian, we\\u2019re on the same team\\u2014Jesus\\u2019 team. Therefore, we can work together toward finding a solution instead of just shouting at each other. If the person we\\u2019re talking to doesn\\u2019t know Jesus, it\\u2019s an opportunity to show His love by listening well and speaking humbly and compassionately. At the end of the day, disagreeing with love and humility\\u2014 which includes admitting when we are wrong\\u2014shows we care about the person we\\u2019re talking with. As Christians, our goal in political conversations isn\\u2019t proving we\\u2019re right\\u2014it\\u2019s showing who Jesus is. \\u2022 Taylor Eising\\n\\u2022 When someone disagrees with us, what would it look like to work toward understanding the other person\\u2019s viewpoint lovingly and humbly?\\n\\u2022 Which is more important: your identity in Christ or your political views? If your political views change, does that mean your identity in Christ changes?\\n\\u2022 Someday, Jesus will return to fully establish His kingdom here on earth, and we will live in perfect unity under His reign. How does this sure hope affect the way we engage with politics? \\nLove your neighbor as yourself. Matthew 22:39b (NLT)\\n\\xa0\\nRead Verses:\\n1 John 2:3-6; 3:21-24'