The country four years ago.

I wrote this Catch four years ago during the 2016 primaries. We were divided then. We are even more divided now. Except for us in the Body of Christ; we are not divided. We have come together over Jesus. And we’re sticking together, regardless.

It’s a silly, nonsensical Beatles song (even George Harrison admitted that), but its most memorable line is the word for us today: “Come together, right now, over me,” if by that we mean: “Come together over Jesus.”

We need to come together. Right wing, left wing, Republicans, Democrats, pro-life, pro-choice, pro-Israel, pro-Palestine, pro-Trump, pro-Biden, and backers of whatever downline candidate you want to back, or none, plus all of you who are not from America, but are watching this political circus over here … we need to come together right now over Jesus. We can, you know. We can be servants of Christ who disagree on how the country should be run and who should run it. We can do that because we are citizens of two kingdoms. One is the kingdom of this world to which America belongs; the other is the kingdom of God to which the Body of Christ belongs.

It’s really not that hard to unravel. The only trouble we get into is when we confuse the two — when we think that the kingdoms of this world, of which America is one, can be used to advance the cause of the kingdom of God. It can’t happen because the kingdoms of the world operate on an entirely different power base than the kingdom of God. The kingdoms of the world, of which America is one, are “power over” based, as exemplified in wealth, numbers, military might, and political control; the kingdom of God is exemplified by sacrificial service, weakness, humility and love. It is what Gregory Boyd calls “power under.” It’s what Jesus demonstrated when He washed His disciples’ feet, and then told them (and us) to go and do likewise.

You can see why we can disagree over how to run a worldly kingdom, because, in the end, there will not be any worldly kingdoms left standing. They will all ultimately fail. Only the kingdom of God will prevail, but it will prevail, at least until Christ returns in power, from a power-under, turn-the-other-cheek, go-the-extra-mile, love-your-enemies, pray-for-those-who-persecute-you, peacemaking sort of position. Not the kind of thing that will get you elected in a power-over worldly government.

But we who care about the kingdom of God don’t care about how far we get or don’t get in this kingdom, or how we agree or disagree on procedures, because we are working side-by-side in the kingdom of God for other goals: to look after widows and orphans, to lift up the fallen, to feed the hungry, to speak for those who have no voice, to rescue the victims of oppression, to welcome strangers, and extend grace and forgiveness to all as Christ has extended it to us; in other words: to represent grace turned outward to the world, and you can do all that regardless of your political affiliation.

Come on people, whatever side you are on or none, and come together, right now, over Jesus. We have a kingdom to further, and it is not of this world. So go ahead and vote, debate, agree, disagree, even run for office if that’s what you feel called to do, but don’t do it like your life depended on it, because it doesn’t. Your life depends on what God has already done for you.

And it overflows into giving and we ask you to see if God would have you give to the Catch Ministry today.