Post Election Reflection

This past election cycle revealed, I think, some of our idols, hypocrisies, and sin as Christians in America. Idols would include our way of life and expected standard of living, and security; hypocrisy would include being intensely "pro-life" for babies in the womb (with which I agree!) but not so concerned about children dying of malnourishment and bad water or people dying in unjust wars (or any war); and our sin would include judgmentalism and arrogance (eg. the inference that it would be unchristian to vote for a certain candidate; or that we are right, that we're on God's side, and others clearly are not). It is my hope and prayer that as Christians in America we can truly be the Church, that we manifest the kingdom of God in how we live in our world and how we live together.

Our hope is not in the government, in a political party, or any person. God's dream, God's kingdom, while we are to work tirelessly for its advancement and realization "on earth as in heaven," will not finally or fully come until the Servant Son, the King, returns to make all things right. Tough times (including not having government support, or even being persecuted by the state) have always been times when the true church, the body of Christ, has been a light and life to the world; they have always been times when Jesus' movement, the kingdom of God, has looked more like Jesus' movement - healing, rescuing, sharing, truly good news in a bad news world.

Some of what I'm getting at is beautifully described in the following quote from a Roman historian, Aristides, who was not a Christian. This was written about one hundred years after Jesus' death, resurrection, and ascension;

“It is these Christians, O Emperor, who seem to have sought and found the truth, for they acknowledge God. They don’t keep for themselves the goods entrusted to them. They show love to their neighbors. They don’t do to others what they don’t want done to themselves. They speak gently to those that oppress them, and in this way they keep making their enemies their friends. In fact, it has become their passion to do good to their enemies. Every one of them who has anything gives ungrudgingly to the one who has nothing. If the Christians see a homeless stranger they bring them into their own homes. They rejoice over the brother or sister as if they were a real brother or sister. For the Christians don’t call one another brothers or sisters because of the flesh, but because they believe they are born again in the Spirit of their God. If anyone comes to them who is poor while the Christians have nothing to spare then the entire community will fast for two or three days until everybody can eat together. In this way they can supply any poor person with the things that they need. This, O Emperor, is the rule of life for the Christians. This is how they live. “