hope

[Adrian Bourgeois]

I find myself too often with my foot in too many
boats. On one hand, I am often described as a
pacifist, tree hugging, California liberal, a
description that does not fall far from its mark. On
the other hand, I have been a follower of Jesus Christ
for as long as I can remember and devote myself to
upholding what He determines as the truth. I don't
consider myself a very conflicted person, at least not
in the area of morality, so it has always made me
curious as to why these two things are often viewed as
conflicting traits. I do not confess myself to blind
religion. There is good reason why I choose to follow
the One who says, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for
they will be called sons of God" (Matt 5:9). There is
good reason why I choose to follow the One who
commands, "Love your enemies and pray for those who
persecute you" (Matt 5:44). There is good reason why
I choose to follow the One who offers, "Friend, your
sins are forgiven" (Luke 5:20). There is good reason
why I follow the One who challenges us, "How can you
say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck
out of your eye' when you yourself fail to see the
plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the
plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly
to remove the speck from your brother's eye" (Luke
6:41-42). I say "You hypocrite!" to our president.
And not only that, but I say "You hypocrite!" to all
those who support going into a foreign country to
remove an alleged speck of dust from it's eye,
practically creating our own "plank", and then saying
that is the way of Christ. I think America is an
incredible nation to be proud of. I see the Christian
tradition deeply rooted in our national values of
justice, equality, and liberty for all, but unless we
actually display these values to our fellow neighbors
of the planet earth, these values that Jesus intended
to followed throughout the entire world, they are
nothing more than words on a page. It really pains me
what a bad name Christianity has gotten from people
taking things in its name that don't represent it at
all. I hope that people will see the example that
Calvin College has put forward by refusing to let
their house become "a den of robbers" (Mark 11:17)
that Christianity is not about corruption, bigotry,
and spin. To these "leaders" who represent it as such
Jesus says, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and
Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your
spices-mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected
the more important matters of the law-justice, mercy
and faithfulness. You should have practiced the
latter, without neglecting the former. You blind
guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel"
(Matt 23:23-24). Contrary to popular belief, the
fruit of the true Christian Spirit is love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control (Gal 5:22-23). To all of
you faithful disciples at Calvin College I offer my
deepest admiration, respect, and encouragement. You
have started a ripple that I believe can lead to the
reaffirmation of the Christian faith. As Jesus says
in John 4:35 "I tell you open your eyes and look at
the fields! They are ripe for harvest."
In Christ,
Peace,
Adrian




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