Today’s Bible readings about all about God’s
restoration and renewal. God has held me strongly in this winter season. I can’t remember the last time I felt this good in March. God is
my protector and my shield. I trust in God and in God alone. During the chaos
of the impending election, it is good to remember that no politician represents
God to me. I live in a country that is NOT a theocracy. I do not need any
politician to try and enforce God’s will. Instead, I am free to act according
to my own conscience. I can question politicians freely, regardless of party
affiliation, because my hope is not in party politics but in the Lord. Frankly,
it could be a relief if someone as opposed to Christ’s message as Trump is
would win. Because then, finally, Christians could pull their heads out of the
sand and stop depending on government to make things “right.” Instead of asking
the government to criminalize abortion, we could work in our communities to
make abortion unnecessary. How? Not by preaching abstinence or rape avoidance,
but by preaching the beauty of consensual sex, by holding men accountable for their sexual acts, and by providing real support and
love to mothers of ALL kinds. Instead of asking the government to raise the
minimum wage, we could work in our communities to hold businesses
accountable for providing a living wage to employees. And we could further demonstrate our
commitment to that living wage by paying fair prices for products instead of
buying the lowest price. Instead of asking the USDA to create more laws about
labeling, we could work in our communities to eat locally and pay a fair
price for food.
I know, I know, this is crazy talk. Why should anyone
take setting the world right as a personal task? Who ever said that was our
personal job? I can’t set the world aright by my own actions. But
maybe I’m not supposed to. Maybe I’m just supposed to set my own community as
right as possible. After all, God decided that the best way to reach out and
redeem us was by sending one single solitary limited human, one with no
superpowers, in the middle of a time when there was no global broadcast
capability.
God intends the work of redemption to be personal, not national.
And so I seek peace during this election year by
remembering that it is not up to me to save the USA. If Trump or Cruz or
Clinton or Sanders wins the Presidency, it is not my job to adore, respect, or unconditionally support
him/her. It is my job to pray for her or him. It is my job to work within her or his
context to make my local community the Kingdom of God.
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