We are living in days marked by increasing polarization. It seems that the prevailing
motto of our day is, “You’re either for me or against me. And if you’re going to be for me,
then you must accept everything I say and do.” We see this everywhere, from political
agendas, to lifestyle choices. In the court of public opinion, it’s impossible to both
believe that homosexuality is a sin, and that Christians love their neighbors who
struggle with that sin.

This tendency to polarization can also bring great harm to our understanding of
necessary and life-giving theology. Dr. Joel Biermann says, “I am increasingly convinced
that the failure to preserve critical tensions in theology without succumbing to a mutually
exclusive polarity or binary opposition is the culprit behind almost all errant teaching.”

In other words, Christians must guard against developing beliefs and values that seek to
resolve tensions that Scripture doesn’t answer. Historic Lutheran teaching distinctively
embraces the tensions of the Bible. Faith rests not on how well human logic can make
sense of the things of the Lord; rather, faith believes what God has revealed, and where
the Word has not revealed God’s ways, faith rests in God’s omniscience and goodness.

In the case of the Lutheran doctrine of the Two Kingdoms, it is imperative to understand
the Christian’s role in each as complementary and not contradictory. For example, it can
be tempting to dismiss the call to be active in the temporal affairs of man, because
Christians are also citizens of God’s heavenly kingdom. I praise God for the truth of our
citizenship in heaven, and that status remains ours by faith in the crucified and risen
Lord Jesus Christ.

While we wait for eternity, it’s also true that God has called us to love our neighbor. In
Jeremiah 29, God instructs the exiles in Babylon to settle in the city and build their life
there, to “seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile.” We have a God-
given role to care for God’s creation, dating back to the Garden of Eden, and God has
equipped us in different ways to fulfill this role.

I’m grateful for both kingdoms that God has for me. They operate very differently, but
they both ultimately bring glory to God’s name, and as God’s child, I’m grateful for the
opportunity to love my neighbor, as He has so loved me.