Tuesday, November 8, 2016

After the Voting is Done

Tuesday, November 8, 2016
I have no doubt in my mind that after today is over one political camp will be singing along with the Psalmist:
Sing a new song to the Lord, for he has done wonderful deeds.  His right hand has won a mighty victory; his holy arm has shown his saving power!
Psalm 98:1(NLT)       
If the President we elect turns out to be the candidate for whom you voted, I pray your trust was wisely-placed, and the course of our nation will be blessed.  And if it was not mine, I pray my choice will prove to have been foolish, and the course of our nation will be blessed.
And now, no matter which candidate wins or loses, and no matter if we get it wrong or right, on to more important things…after the voting is done, let’s see if we can’t get on with what the beloved Apostle John wrote:
I am writing to remind you, dear friends, that we should love one another. This is not a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning.  Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning.  2 John 5-6(NLT)
Our country has lately been acting quite third worldly in the sense that we are a hot, seed-bed of anger and terrible harshness in every way.  If art supposedly reflects the culture from which it comes, then politics is an even better mirror.  What we have seen in this political election borders on two children slinging insults on the playground. 
It would be laughable if the stakes weren’t so high.  And I’m not particularly singling-out the horrifying image of fingers on the nuclear buttons; I’m talking about the wake of these candidate-bashing sounds and images in media, destroying any vestige of what used to be at least civil discourse or debate.  Who can see the goodness of a heart when all that fills our eyes and ears is anger?
Paul told us that the only few truly lasting things would not be education, budgets, trade deals or healthcare; the truly eternal, indestructible legislations are birthed, nurtured and maintained in the human heart:
Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.  1 Corinthians 13:13(NLT)
That sounds like a landslide.

For You Today

So, if you’re reflecting on this after the voting is over, and you’re wondering what the next step is to do right by whoever was selected for the Oval Office, well, there you go!  The greatest step is to love!  Begin to exercise faith in what God has allowed.  Keep your hope vital and strong in Jesus Christ.  Love everyone God brings across your path.
Everything else is window dressing and weeds.
Everything!
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!
NOTES

[i] Title image: By Ceridwen (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons

No comments:

Post a Comment