“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me’.” (Matthew 28:18)
“Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.” (Psalm 37:3-5)
Scripture tells us that in the last days, there will be times of difficulty. (2 Timothy 3:1) This national election year of 2016 has been such a time in America, particularly for biblically grounded, Jesus-loving, people-loving Christians. Polarization, rancor, deception, and vitriolic, fear-inducing language are not our “cup of tea”.
In less than two weeks, the elections will be over, praise God! But tragically, the times of difficulty will not be over. To the contrary, the polarization and rancor will, regardless of the election outcomes, only get worse unless somebody does something to change how our diverse American people feel about and interact with one another.
This change will not be led by the present leadership of either political party. Their fundamental tactic for obtaining and retaining power is to promote fear and distrust.
The leadership for this positive change can only come from the Body of Christ.
In order to develop successful strategies for this change, we must as Christians be willing to learn from our mistakes. Some of those “lessons learned” will not be available until after the November 8 elections because at present, outcomes are uncertain, our judgment is still clouded and our focus is too narrow.
There is, however, one lesson that I believe we all need to learn (or re-learn) today, in advance of November 8. Jesus is the Lord of America!
Jesus is the Lord of America despite the sin and darkness that we see around us. Jesus is
the Lord of America despite the increasing number of Americans who do not believe in Him. Jesus is the Lord of America despite the many Americans who profess belief but do little to obey God’s Word. Jesus is the Lord of America despite President Obama’s statement that we are no longer just a Christian nation.
My friends, Jesus is the Lord of America because He is the Lord! After His resurrection victory over sin and death, Jesus was given all authority in heaven and on earth by His heavenly Father, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. (Matthew 28:18) Jesus is the Lord of our nation and all nations, “the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords”. (1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14, 19:16
Jesus is not like the fairy Tinkerbell in “Peter Pan”, who began to fade away when children stopped believing in her. He does not fall off His throne when people fail to acknowledge or submit to His lordship. (Psalm 2) And despite the fears expressed by many Christians on both sides of the present presidential contest, He will not fall off His throne when either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump becomes President.
Sin and unbelief have serious adverse consequences for a nation. (Proverbs 14:34) I grieve over our nation’s confusion about the sanctity of life, marriage, sexuality, racism, respect for law enforcement, religious freedom, the love of money and fame. But my grief does not give birth to despair. Instead, it intensifies my desire, like David in Psalm 37, to trust in the Lord of America and commit my ways to His Way.
The Lord’s Way calls for us to pray daily for all our governmental leaders – those we voted for and those we voted against. (1 Timothy 2:1-2; 1 Thessalonians 5:17) We may even change a Saul into a Paul.
The Lord’s Way calls for us to bless and not curse. (James 3:10-11; Luke 6:27-27) Blessing does not mean we agree with what is wrong. Blessing opens the door for our leaders to receive God’s wisdom and be protected from the enemy’s deceptions. When you curse a President, you curse the nation. When you vow to cause a presidency to fail, as some politicians in both parties have done, you move the nation toward failure.
The Lord’s Way calls for us to seek the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:1-6) The biblically grounded, Jesus-loving, people-loving Christians of America need to get together – white, black and brown; young and old; male and female; without regard to political party affiliation. We must love one another, listen to each other and work together under the Lord’s leadership to address each other’s concerns, not just our own. (John 13:34; Philippians 2:4)
We must also stand together to show non-Christians that God loves them and we love them. (John 17:22-23) Truth must be spoken in love because faith works through love. (Ephesians 4:15; 1 John 3:18; Galatians 5:6) Without love, we are wasting our time. (1 Corinthians 13)
Finally, we must form our strategies and make our decisions in faith and love, not in fear and anger, which are simply footholds for the devil. (2 Timothy 1:7; Ephesians 4:26-32)
The most important election in American history will not be on November 8. It will be what Christians elect to do thereafter. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
God bless you, God bless our community, and God bless America.