Unity in God

Politics has always been a topic I hated because of the perception I had of it growing up. For my whole life, talk of politics led to intense anger, persecution, and screaming matches within my family. Therefore, this became the basis of what I knew politics to be and I began to shy away and become fearful of any conversations about them. I never wanted to insert my opinion on the matter because I believed that opening up the floor to that meant instant division and disconnection, and as an enneagram 9 I hate division and disconnection.

However, as the world keeps heating up in this realm it is becoming impossible to shy away from the topic. I believe God is opening up our eyes to many issues in our world that have been here for centuries, and as our eyes are opened we must acknowledge it. Through this, I believe God has begun transforming my heart in how I see politics in general, but specifically the division that has come from political ideologies. I don’t believe division is ever God’s heart because God stands for unity. However, I also believe that God loves our perspectives and how we see the world and the unique things we feel passionate about fighting for. I was recently talking with a friend about perception versus reality. They asked me “if we all have the mind of Christ, but we have different perceptions then we ultimately have different realities, so how can we know which is the true reality of God considering we all have access to the mind of Christ that would influence our reality?” I was stumped for a minute, until God reminded me of His Omnipresence. This means that God exists in and outside of time, He can be present in every moment of my life the same time He is present in every moment of your life. Because of this I believe that all of the realities we see and fight for, no matter how different they are, can be true and good at the same time. With this in mind, God has begun teaching me that differences in political beliefs doesn't not have to create division, instead it can actually fuel conversations that lead to change the environment to reflect more of what the Kingdom of God looks like.
 
We all have different pieces of the puzzle through our perspectives on life, and each piece is essential in bringing heaven to Earth. God has been teaching me that every voice has things to say that matter to create the Kingdom of God here. It is important to not get too wrapped up in following one voice too closely without a willingness to hear another out. Instead, we can listen openly to others, to our own hearts, and to the Holy Spirit to decide where the best overarching next step to take would be. It's not about us being right, it's not about which side of the political spectrum we fall on, it's not about division-- it is simply about ushering in the presence of God to create a place that stands for love, justice, and honor.

Perspective is essential in making decisions! Each individual perspective is important because God designed us uniquely to have different perspectives to work together to come up with the all around best thing. We need diversity among the political sphere. That's not to cause arguments, that's not to instill fear, it's simply to provide insight into every possible angle and work together to find solutions that maximize benefits in every atmosphere. If we never disagreed then no change would happen. A way to actually promote peace and find unity is by embracing the need to disrupt patterns that cause agitation and unrest. Disrupting patterns usually comes with disagreement and sometimes it can get a little messy, but I promise you that nothing is too messy for God to come in and work from. He loves to use messy people and He loves to use messy situations.
 
Yes 2020 has been hard, yes it has been messy, and honestly it's been a little scary. But I believe there is so much hope in 2020. There is hope because for the first time in a long long time we are moving forward and seeing the gaps that are here. I know the gaps aren't pretty, and they can sometimes be really painful, but when we see the gaps we can actually start putting our minds together to figure out how to address them.

Currently, I'm still learning a lot, on so many levels, and sometimes, I still struggle to see all that God is doing in the political system because of how much darkness I have seen in it. However, that is where I choose to sew into hope and faithfulness and I trust that God is always present, always moving, always redeeming, and always transforming in every moment in every circumstance, in every location. And throughout this unrest a lot has been brought into light, and anything that is brought to the light causes darkness to lose any influence it may have had over it. Therefore, I am choosing to keep pressing through the discomfort and allowing strongholds within political division to be exposed and loose any influence they might have had in the past and fight for change and unity in the Kingdom of God.

Author|Tori Kramer