I have held for quite some time that following Christ brings with it a lot of questions. We live in world bent on “dualism.” I was reminded listening to a conversation with Richard Rohr that this is simply not enough for mature followers of Christ.

When it comes to politics, too many Americans, especially those labeling themselves Christians, have said it’s a two party system, so it’s simply voting for the lesser of two evils.

When it comes to ideologies, one has to be “all in” on a system (capitalism or socialism or communism, etc.) or you are labeled as “not worthy” of that ideology.

This is simply not the way of Christ. Mature thinking crosses through “dualism.” It is not wrong to begin with dualistic systems. It is immature to stay there. The affections of Christ will destroy dualistic thinking and if we are beholden to that “black and white” system, we will simply be stuck in immature thinking.

The affections of Christ draw us to action. It will be action that does not easily regard someone else’s “in or out” status. The affections of Christ will draw us to care for the person. Before helping an immigrant, for example, dualistic thinking asks, “Is this person here legally?” The affections of Christ call us to begin with another question: “What does this person need?”

Ideologies will melt under the affections of Christ. If I am tied to an ideology and view all those not in my ideology to be “foes” to conquer, I am not a very mature thinker. I have lost sight of following Christ.

Ideologies and dualism die hard. In the early church, the separation was clear early on: Jewish followers of Jesus and Gentile followers of Jesus. And care for Gentile widows was very uneven early on, as we see in Acts 6. The affections of Christ called the Church to care for the widow, regardless of “credentials.”

The affections of Christ are not just about “good feelings.” It is about following Christ… even to the hard places. The more we are drawn to his affections, the more our dualism and ideologies are challenged.

Please… dive deeper into the affections of Christ and allow his deep love push out all that doesn’t belong.