Being the Church After Election Day
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this. Isaiah 9:6-7
It is 2:56 in the afternoon of Election Day 2020 as I begin to write. Tonight, or on another day, we will learn the winners of many elections – most notably that of the presidency of the United States. I should tell you up front that my joy in Christ is intact today. That will be just as true 5 minutes after I learn the outcome – irrespective of the winner. My hero is Jesus alone, my trust is in Him alone, and the future of the United States rests in Him alone, if we are faithful to keep our Lord on the thrones of our hearts alone. The peace, harmony, integrity, justice, protection, and prosperity of our country depend on the identity of our Lord countless times more than the identity of our President. No President can do anything without Him and no citizen has any hope but for Him.
Perhaps you know the name of our next President as you read this. Maybe your favorite won and you are tickled to death. Maybe your favorite lost and you are devastated, as if the world is doomed. No matter which candidate wins, millions of opposing citizens will be in angst while some celebrate euphorically. Others will be quite concerned for individual reasons. The smallest number will be apathetic, perhaps as a defense mechanism or self-medicating anesthetic. One wonders if such apathy is from frustration, disappointment, hopelessness, or simply genuine disinterest. No matter what, Christians celebrating need to be gracious and kind to all those lamenting. Christians lamenting need to be gracious and kind to all those celebrating.
As disciples of Christ, we have a different vantage and course, when we get it right. Politics is not our religion. The President is not our King. This does not mean we don’t care about good government, ethics, and the public welfare. We do, for no better reason than God cares even more. Remember that, by His Incarnation as Immanuel (God Among Us on Earth) and by His bodily Resurrection as The Lord of Glory, Jesus made it loud and clear that He cares infinitely about what happens on Earth just as He does in Heaven.
Our focus above and beyond mere politics honors our trust in the Lord and His mandate that we are to “love others as I have loved you.” Our preeminent and paramount mission is to love people, bring them to the saving grace of Jesus, and help them to be joyful no matter their circumstances because of what He has done for us. We can do all that and are commanded to do all that no matter who has won an election. We might temporarily be citizens of the greatest nation on Earth, but we are eternally citizens of the greater Kingdom of Heaven.
Children of God are to continue unhindered in our joy no matter the identity of the President of the United States because of the identity of the King of Heaven. While it seems that some would sell their souls merely to get their candidate elected, Jesus has saved our souls as the overarching, cardinal, and matchless Sovereign of all creation.
Each side has claimed that the United States of America will be all but lost with the opposition in office. The separately prized ideals of each faction cannot be served if the other is in control. Yet, we know that the prized ideals of the Gospel, upon which we stake our eternal lives, can be served irrespective of the party in control. We as the Body of Christ are positioned to witness to those in power and to assert the Lord’s truth wherever there is evil and corruption in government. “There is no authority except from God and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God.” Romans 13:1 Those authorities, including American Presidents, are far more accountable and answerable to God – even more than they are to the American people. Nobody gets away with anything in the Kingdom of God.
My last offering to you is mind boggling to me. Four years ago, I wrote a Pastoral Letter to our congregation right after the 2016 election. It is utterly remarkable that I could issue the same message today without changing a single comma! The more things change, the more they remain the same, I suppose. People wrote that they were helped by the 2016 letter. Some wrote bashing me, making clear again that politics can be religion for too many Christians. If today’s letter hasn’t helped you to be humble and considerate in victory or gracious and accepting in defeat, then read the 2016 letter which appears below this one.
May God bless His holy Church, The United States of America, our new President, and all the people and nations of the world.
No matter what the outcome of any election, God is our Father, Jesus is our Lord, and the Holy Spirit is our Helper.
In faith and hope,
