Saturday, November 22, 2008
Hebrews 11:16 Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.
THE ONE LABEL THAT MATTERS
One interesting aspect of the recent American presidential campaign was Obama's insistence in portraying McCain as "another President Bush." McCain was equally insistent that he was nothing of the sort. The people with whom we align ourselves says a lot about who we are, and furthermore has a lot to do with how people see us. For this reason we often feel very insulted when people label us. Considering the fact that the most common description I have heard for Americans from non-Americans is "loud and obnoxious," I might very well be insulted if someone labeled me a typical American. In the same way, some people consider it the ultimate insult to be called a liberal, and some would rather die than be thought of as a conservative.
But finally God reminds us that our labels, whether they are political, social, national, or intellectual in nature mean absolutely nothing. Those that seek the city that is above are concerned neither with being labeled by men nor labeling others, for we know that there is only one label that matters, the label that God gives us.
And what does God say? He says He is not ashamed to be labeled our God.
We are not only tempted to label others when it comes to political matters, but also with regard to our standing before God. It is our natural tendency to view some people as better Christians and some as terrible people -- to see in some mainly virtue while in others we see mainly vice. But if God is not ashamed to be our God despite everything we have done, we certainly have no good reason to be ashamed of being associated with anyone else. What is important is their heavenly citizenship.
