November 11, 2018 When We All Get To Heaven
Election Day, November 6th
I just came into the church office after voting. Now, siting at my desk, I’m reflecting on why it was so important that I took the time to vote. Here’s why….
In our nation voting is a privilege and a civic responsibility. It is the occasionally inspiring, sometimes disappointing, frequently frustrating act of fallen human beings placing their trust in a government led by their fellow fallen human beings while trusting in God’s providential grace.
When I vote I am not saying I believe in the infallibility of the candidates and their parties. I am not saying that one party has all the answers or that any one party’s platform can create heaven on earth. If I believed that, I would be practicing idolatry.
I vote because God has called us to be caretakers of this world we have inherited – and caretakers of each other. I vote because God in his providence has placed me in a nation where voting can bring about change, even if it is frequently slow and cumbersome and imperfect. I vote because I believe that many of the founding principles of this nation are in tune with those of God’s Word, even though our history demonstrates that we often fall woefully short of upholding those principles [slavery, segregation, materialism above charity and justice, pleasure above morality, to name but a few.]
I vote hoping I will not forget that there is but one Savior and one way to true life and peace. When I vote, I pray that God will somehow use that vote to bring into this world a little less chaos and a lot more kindness. I pray for all the candidates who ran but lost and for all those elected, that they will serve with wisdom and fairness. And I pray that through our votes we will live into the vision of a nation where there is liberty and justice for all.
Especially at this juncture in our nation’s history, I pray for all those in our world whose lives will be altered – for better or for worse – by our votes, including the “tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the homeless and tempest tossed (Emma Lazarus).” There are almost 70 million refugees worldwide, half of whom are children. One out of every eight persons in our world are undernourished, most of them non-adults. And twelve percent of the world’s population live within 50 miles of a war zone, many of them innocent children and the elderly. Can we truly be great as a nation if we vote without considering the impact on the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable among us, from the unborn to the elderly and all in between?
Finally, as I vote, I pray that God will bless America not for our personal comfort and security, but so that we can be a blessing to all nations. I voted today and I pray that you voted, too – prayerfully and with the assurance that God’s “truth is marching on!”
Grace and peace, Pastor Bob
Revelation 21:1-11;22-27