Taking a Knee For the Gospel

I've never taken a knee during a national anthem, but I will say that I have taken a knee for the gospel a few times.

Sanctimonious much? Maybe, but the apostle Paul did too - and when I read about his passion for Christ's Church, I truly want to be like him as well, in my humble willingness to pray for God's children everywhere to be rooted and grounded in love - and to comprehend, along with saints of every race and gender and social status - the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.

I'll take a knee for that, because I honestly believe that at the root of every racist thought or slur or action, and at the root of every hateful retaliation of those who receive these types of despicable offenses - is a tragic misunderstanding of the love of God which knows no bounds (Ephesians 3:14-19).

Essentially, what Paul is arguing for in the whole letter to the Ephesians is God's reconciliation of himself through Christ towards all of humanity, and consequently - the unity that should exist between people from all nations towards God and towards one another in the church... Paul was willing to fight for these truths big time, to the extent that he aggressively had to confront Christians who weren't willing to accept the equality that we have in Christ (Galatians 2:11); and to the extent that for people to even come to know Christ to begin with - he was willing to be tortured, imprisoned, and eventually even die (2 Corinthians 11:23-29).         

A picture I took with Colombian soldiers after sharing the gospel with them

Paul understood loud and clear that at the root of every sinful act of mankind towards God or one another was a faulty understanding of the love of God expressed through the all-sufficient sacrifice of his Son, Jesus Christ. Therefore, he was willing to bow his knees in prayer so that the believers in Ephesus, along with saints everywhere (which includes us), would be rooted and grounded in love instead of hatred - and that we would know it, even though it's impossible to know, but we actually know it nonetheless - because we know Christ who is the ultimate personification of love (1 John 4:9).

Paul lost everything because of this type of love (Phil. 3:7-8); and even though many people think that the worst thing a human can do is desecrate his own flag - actually, it's far worse to desecrate a human being of any race or nationality through hatred or discrimination, because at the very essence of any human's existence, is the distinguishing feature that we are all created in the image of God... Better said, any act that is done in hatred against any human is actually an act that is done in hatred against God himself (who is the Creator of that human), and that is totally unacceptable.  

Do you see how the gospel breaks down all the barriers between Greek or Jew, slave or free, male or female? (Galatians 3:28). Well it does - because Christ died to break down those barriers that separated us from both God and from other human beings. And if it's for freedom that Christ has set us free, then there's no way that we can submit to a yoke of slavery again (Galatians 5:1). 

In fact, in Romans 6:1-14 Paul talks about the slavery we once had towards sin, but just as how a slave ceases to be a slave once he or she dies - so also we cease to be slaves of sin once we die with Christ (v.6-8)... We're no longer slaves to sin, rather now we're slaves to righteousness! (v.18); and if being slaves of sin only results in death, than being slaves of God can only result in sanctification and eternal life (v.20-23).

Amen!    

And so if we think about another story that has to do with bending the knee - in the book of Daniel it was precisely by not bending the knee towards the golden image of Babylon that Shadrach, Meshac, and Abednego were thrown into a fiery furnace. They were in Babylon as slaves, but their slavery couldn't restrain their devotion towards God, and so in their spirits they were actually free from the petty rulings of Nebuchadnezzar. They were devoted entirely to the only true God of the universe, and so they trusted in him that could save them - and even if God wasn't going to deliver them from the fire, they still weren't going to bow down in worship to any false god (Daniel 3).      

I believe that all of us in one way or another are going to bend our knee towards something or someone... In some cases bending a knee may be a powerful sign of protest, in other cases it may be a pitiful display of weakness. In all cases referring to Jesus however, bending the knee for him is an awesome symbol of obedience to his Lordship.

Philippians 2:9-11 says that one day every knee in heaven and on earth and under the earth will bow before Jesus, and every tongue will confess that he is Lord... Some will do so out of obligation, but it is my persuasion to do so now out of my own volition, and in humble recognition of Christ's authority and power and lordship over everything that I am.

         

Bending the knee besides my niece and nephews, as well as by Jason