Dear Evangelical Friends — Come Back To Jesus

So friends, it’s been a while since we’ve talked. What has it been, almost 5 months since the election? I thought I’d check in and see how you are doing.

How are you feeling about your President? I know, he’s “our” President, but let’s give credit where it’s due — the 80% of you who voted for him. I thought about you this week as your President’s Supreme Court Justice nominee is in the news saying how he’s not interested in overturning Roe v. Wade. Obviously, I thought of you since most of you said that was the main reason you were voting for your guy. That must be a hard one to swallow. Well, that and the possible dealings with Russia to rig the election…and the accusing of the former President of illegally wiretapping, but I digress.

It got me thinking about all of the other work your guy has done over the past few months. Let’s see — he’s tried to ban a bunch of folks coming into the country and tried to kick quite a few out. That’s not going so well, but at least he’s trying. What else…oh yeah, he’s trying to take away healthcare. Well, not everyone’s healthcare, just poor people’s healthcare. Clearly, you can’t have an iPhone and healthcare. What country do you think this is? (I know, that’s Ryan, but really, what’s the difference?). And the whole Meals on Wheels deal is a stroke of genius. Why would we want to fund that? Clearly, they have iPhones.

So let’s see, the alien…check. The sick…check. The poor…check. Well, at least there’s that Supreme Court thing…wait…

Ok, can we be real for a minute? I mean, you’ve already blocked me on Facebook, so I’m going to go for it. You guys blew it. You picked wrong. I know, Hillary was just as bad (no, she wasn’t) and your guy said he’d do some good things and you didn’t really think he’d actually do those other things. Well, you were wrong. Very wrong. But it’s not too late. I mean, the world is going to be pretty messed up for a while because of you, but we can deal with that later.

My evangelical friends, it’s not too late for you to come back to Jesus. I know you thought he was over there with you guys, but nope, he’s over here. He’s over here with the alien and the poor and the sick, just like he’s always been. And you can come over here and join him. I feel pretty confident your guy has ticked off the press enough that they will take care of him politically. So we can get back to loving the folks that you guys voted against a few months ago. Don’t worry, I won’t tell them. You created the mess but you can help clean it up and we will look back on this whole thing years from now and forget it ever happened (well, maybe not, but let’s keep going).

The church has a long history of choosing the wrong side. This wasn’t the first time and it certainly won’t be the last. But hopefully we can learn something this time. Jesus isn’t a political ideal that one party can claim and we as the church don’t need to fall for that trick any longer. Just like we don’t have to only buy Christian music…wait, you still only listen to Christian music….and you don’t buy it….bad example. We will get back to this at another time.

From the beginning, Jesus has always been about the margins. He chose the least likely people to reveal himself to. He chose the least likely leaders to lead his people. Over and over Jesus chooses the least likely, the least powerful, the least chosen, to be his. That has not changed and it is not going to change. No matter what any political party or church leader says. It’s not optional; it’s who God is.

So come back, evangelical friends, we will accept you back. Join us as we fight for the people that no one else will fight for. Run to the margins and stand up for the alien, the poor and the sick. Let’s get back to being people who are known by how they love and not how they hate. The world could use some loving on right now.

And I know for sure that Jesus will take you back. He has a good track record of forgiving those that have turned their backs on him in the name of politics.