Another year, another VanDrunen book, another apt passage. This time on Christians and the public sphere. I can't prove it, but I'm starting to wonder whether he's been tracking the zeitgeist of my FB feed these past few months. Just throwing that out there.
Finally, the Christian’s attitude should be charitable, compassionate, and cheerful. If Christians are truly confident in God, as just discussed, they must show charity to their neighbors, for faith works through love (Gal 5:6). They should overflow with the compassion of their Lord (e.g., Col 3:12; cf. Matt 9:36, e.g.). Christians are often quick to view people of different political opinion as their enemies. In some cases, they may indeed be enemies, yet love for enemy is a chief attribute of Christ’s disciples (Matt 5:43–48). It is deeply unbecoming when Christians complain incessantly about the state of political affairs, especially Christians who enjoy levels of prosperity, freedom, and peace that are the envy of the world. It is easy to be angry about losing one’s country—as if any country ever belonged to Christians. It is easy to demonize political opponents—as if Christians themselves are not sinners saved entirely by grace. It is easy to become bitter—as if “the lines” had not “fallen for [them] in pleasant places,” as if they did not have “a beautiful inheritance” (Ps 16:6). Christians have become heirs of a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus they say, “My heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices” (Ps 16:9). Those who are heirs of new creation are truly the most blessed of people, and while they wait for their Lord’s return they have opportunity to love and bless all of their neighbors, even those who do not respond in kind, and to do so with a joyful spirit.
(Politics After Christendom, pp. 168-169)
