Do you favor the separation of church and state? I do, for it was my idea in the first place, that I separated the roles of the priests and the kings, who were not allowed to burn incense at my altar. And so you have two realms, but one need  not be hostile to the other, as critics assume. Yet even so you see the influence of one on the other, and nations with similar faith traditions will tend to have similar forms of government. Both are based on their understanding of ultimate truth, and it is unrealistic to expect incompatible visions to endure side-by-side. Is it any surprise that liberty is congruent with the Christian faith? Do you want to live in an atheist dominated country?

Do you ever wish that you had lived when I did? Even if you don’t, how many believers have you met who have expressed this wish? Yet how many of the core teachings of the faith did I present to my disciples face to face that they didn’t get? They were uncomprehending about the other sheep not of this fold, the wineskins, and the fact that I must die. They were troubled when I told them I was going away, but I said that it was better that way because I would send the Comforter to lead them into all truth. You can see how they eventually ‘got it’ in the book of Acts. You live under these same terms. Can you see how much better this is? 

Have you ever been homesick? This is a typical response when people leave home, longing for a place you belong. This is understandable by everyone, but can you imagine being homesick for a place you have never been before? How could this be? Yet I have put eternity in your heart. You have never been there, but it is hardwired into your spiritual DNA. And so you may feel restless, and those who follow me are called sojourners, strangers, and pilgrims in this world, with hearts that are restless until they rest in me. Let not your heart be troubled by this. It will find its one true home. 

How do you discern your fellow believers? You do not assign people an eternal destiny; that is my job, and I do not subcontract it. Yet for the purpose of fellowship it is helpful to know where people stand. Do you do this on the basis of confession and affirmation? It is easy to judge people leniently if they have the right beliefs. It is easy to judge yourself leniently for your beliefs too. But I have already given you a different criteria. You shall know them by their fruits. You judge those outside your faith by this criteria, and they judge you the same way. What people do is a more reliable indicator of their true nature than what they say.