Listening to Kevin's sermon, I was struck with the great longing for peace. How I wish we could all get along! Two close friends of mine sit down together. Both are wonderful people. Both probably have similar deep longings for a peaceful world. But they vary dramatically on the sort of policies they would support. In the course of their discussion, they are pushed farther apart. We experience the same thing as a national community. We yearn for the same peace, but in the process we push "them" - the ones we disagree with - farther away.
What is God's perspective? Well, Jesus' command to love our enemies was, is, and always will be shocking. Jesus even prayed for those who were crucifying him on the cross! Even then, Jesus sees the heart. And the heart yearns for good, even when it finds only evil ways to accomplish it. He sees this in us and he is willing to forgive us our heart-blindness.
We might wonder how to love our enemies and still take our disagreements seriously. God loves people more than discussions. God might favor your cause, but he is absolutely smitten with the person with whom you disagree.
And even if we think we vote the way God would, that doesn't mean we haven't been God's enemy. Without Christ, every human person would be an enemy of God. We can't vote this problem away because it is a problem of the human heart. Jesus tells us to love our enemies because this is what God does all the time: he loves enemies.
Where is a Christian's confidence? It is not in the government or a particular leader. It is not even in the candidate we think has enough backbone to make a difference in Washington! How about ourselves? After all, we are a government by the people and for the people - surely we must have confidence in ourselves to be worthy of such an honor. No! We don't! I praise God that we can vote sinful systems out of existence. But we can't vote sin out of the human heart. I wish we could! Alas, we cannot. Thinking we can majority-vote human sin out of office by trying hard enough or hiding our faults from one another only leads to spiritual and emotional exhaustion. And being Christian does not keep us from being crabby and unpleasant when we are tired.
But Christ is our refreshment. An ancient Christian said, "To the one who hungers, grace is food." Together, we are a new creation in Christ. The old life has gone and the new has come. Everyday, we have a storehouse of words from the Holy Spirit. We also have a storehouse of words from enmity and bitterness. Which will give us purpose and identity today?
If you are in Christ, I thank God that you are voting! Because whatever political party you line up with, the kingdom of God is coming in you. You don't vote so that someone else can be salt and light when they get to political office. You get to do it through your words, actions, and prayers everyday! If you are in Christ, you are truly changed.
We all long for peace. But do we long with hope? Do we long with joy? Through his death and resurrection, Christ has brought peace to our hearts and to the world - new life from the dead. We already have the peace that counts - God's peace, not ours. And it will be fully sealed when Christ returns. But until then, we pray, "God, let your kingdom come in me". We ask that the world would see the truth by faith until he comes and every eye can see him.
Waiting is hard. We pray for patience in the same way we pray for peace. But God's will can't be impeded by any earthly power. The people of Israel were liberated from mighty Egypt. Jesus Christ lived, died, and rose at the apex of the Roman Empire's power. This week, we elect a new president of the United States. Whether we elect Obama or Romney, we pray that God will be honored with the president's tenure. But we have our King - and it is in him and the world he loves that we delight.
Reflection Questions:
1) Kevin mentioned the Alfred Smith event in NYC during his sermon. Has there been a moment in the 2012 presidential campaign that seemed particularly redemptive to you?
2) What do we pray for those who have a hard time during campaigns like these, like the candidates' families?
3) If you were running for president, how would you reach "across the aisle" and invite those who disagree with you to a common purpose?
1 - we want to get along but we can't
2 - what is God's perspective...love one another
3 - doesn't God care about the issues? Yes
4 - voting doesn't solve our biggest problem - the heart. Jesus does.
5 - a Christian does not have confidence in the flesh. Sin is not a problem that can be voted away. This leads to spiritual and emotional exhaustion. And none of us are pleasant when we are tired.
6 - put on the new self.
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