The Messy Middle of Love: How Jesus Calls Us Beyond Ideological Allegiance

Throughout history countless examples of people use the name of Jesus to justify or convince themselves & others the sacredness of their party, agenda, or platform. For centuries people tried to stand on the “holy” claim that Jesus is on their side. Countless political movements claim Jesus as their moral compass; numerous colonization efforts are cloaked as evangelism, and outright injustices are perpetrated in the name of advancing the Kingdom of God.

If we are willing to honestly read the message of the Gospel as Jesus revealed it, we will find that Jesus never calls us to takes sides or to approve of any movement, governing principle, or ideology that leads to the marginalization of people we define as “the others”.

The longer I pastor, the more I realize how deeply our cultural moment longs for clarity—yet how quickly we trade the clarity of Jesus for the certainty of our preferred ideology. Jesus engaged the political issues of His day with remarkable courage, compassion, and conviction, yet He refused to be captured by any party, agenda, or platform. In a moment when Christians often feel pulled toward ideological extremes, the church needs to remember that Jesus is Lord—not a mascot for any political or social ideology, whether it is considered left or right Jesus isn’t on any earthly side.

 

Messy middle living hinges on recognizing that, as Christians, we follow a savior who was political –but never partisan- regarding the kingdoms of the world. What does this mean? There are three theologically supported, principles that support this position.

• Jesus confronted EVERY injustice He encountered.

We see Jesus’ confronting injustice throughout His ministry on earth and the authors of the epistles carry the theme into the remainder of the New Testament. He announced His ministry by declaring good news for the poor, freedom for the oppressed, and justice for the marginalized. (Luke 4:18-19). He stood for those the establishment were taking advantage of while never taking any overt political side. 

 

In our day, this means Christians must be willing to speak against injustice – even when it puts them at odds with the party they may most closely identify with. Topics like systemic racism, immigration, abuse, and dignity of LGBTQ people are not “left” or “right” issues but are realities some of our fellow humans face daily. 

 

Loving LGBTQ people, for example, doesn’t require that capitulate to a world view but rather move to a posture that aligns with Jesus’ heart for a beloved community. Like Jesus we must embrace community, seek true relational connection, & stand with our siblings as equals created in God’s image.

• Jesus refused to allow worldly ideology to supplant the Kingdom 

When the religious and political leaders of Jesus’ day tried to pull him into their worldly ideological debates, he consistently redirected the conversation. With statements, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36) & “seek first the kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33) He pointed to a kingdom that wasn’t built on the same power structures people were used to supporting.

 

Today, we see political ideology as offering identity, belonging, and a false sense of righteousness in ways we haven’t seen in decades. Sadly, this allegiance to earthly ideology supplants the true belonging, heavenly identity, and true righteousness found in the Gospel message of Jesus that fulfills the promises of Grace found throughout the old and new testaments.

 

This matters in profound ways as it shapes how we treat our neighbors, family members, & siblings in the church. If our ideological loyalty leads us to fear, exclusion, or the dehumanization of any people then it is NOT the ideological call of the grace, love, & community found in the gospel.  

• Jesus Made Love the Non-Negotiable Ethic of His People

In His polarized world, Jesus gave a command to His disciples that they were to Love God and Love people (Matthew 22:37-40), and to “love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34). He made clear that love would be THE marker of His people – not doctrinal precision, moral superiority, or political purity.

 

Returning to our siblings in the LGBTQ community we find an example of a group of people who have often been treated as political problems rather than people created in God’s image. When Jesus made the declarations stated above there was no asterisk excluding them or any other marginalized group from Jesus’ love.

 

To love all our human siblings well is not abandoning biblical truth, it is the embodiment of the Gospel of Jesus. It means we listen without debating, honor dignity without exception, and remaining in a posture of welcoming just as Jesus does.

 

Jesus never asked anyone to dilute their convictions. But He did ask us to hold our convictions with His character. In an age when politics demands enemies, Jesus calls for love. When ideology pressures us to take sides, Jesus invites us to lay aside our advantages for the sake of others. When society demands we sort people into “us” and “them,” Jesus creates a family.

The church must become a place where LGBTQ people, people from different ethnic backgrounds or ethnic groups, conservatives, progressives, independents, and everyone in between encounters a community shaped not by ideology, but by cruciform love.

 

The world does not need a partisan church. 

It needs a Christlike one that stands against hurtful partisan ideology.