Greetings All,
My twins came home from school the other day and in a somewhat serious tone asked me: "Dad, is it true that if Obama gets elected he will take away all the kids webkinz?" (For those without children, "webkinz" are little stuffed animals that you purchase at the store and then go on line to a website where you can "feed" and "care" for them.)
At first I chuckled, but then I thought, "It is kind of sad that they've learned so well from the television ads and their parents." Their elementary school is planning to have a mock election where they give the children a sense of what it feels like to vote, and the kids have apparently caught on well in regard to current campaign strategies -- create fear and demonize the opposition. The kids have apparently seen it on television, or the internet, or overheard their parents at home, and now know just what it takes to win an election!
Therefore, this week's "thought" comes at an appropriate time for those who are Americans. It is by Dr. Robert Cannada Jr., chancellor of Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando (Oviedo), FL where I recieved my doctorate. His words are a timely reminder to all Christians regardless of which side of the political spectrum they (or you) happen to stand on. Enjoy!
"And the winner is....
Who will win the presidential election on November 4? I do not know. But I do know who will still be in charge ultimately. Before the election the Lord Jesus Christ is the King of kings and Lord of lords reigning on His throne. After the election, Jesus Christ will still reign....
Though we should be wise, thoughtful and prepared as we can be as we look into the future, we should not be fearful. Consider that even the candidates we believe would serve best often disappoint us, and those candidates we fear the most may not turn out to be as bad as we feared.
The one constant for us as Christians, that should give us peace in the midst of any election, and any circumstance for that matter, is the fact that Jesus reigns. We didn't elect Him; God the Father did. And He will rule until He ultimately puts all things right, and puts all His enemies under His feet (Eph. 1:19-23 / I Cor. 15:24-28).
The Bible is full of examples of the reign of God over government leaders -- sometimes in obvious and public ways and often in ways behind the scenes. Every government official's position is ultimately given to him by God, and he will be removed from that position in the Lord's timing. God establishes leaders... We see this in Romans 13:1-2: 'For there is no authority except from God, and those who exist have been instituted by God..." He also removes leaders....(Daniel 4:28-37).
The Lord's rule over the positions we hold in this life extends even far beyond the leaders of a nation to those who serve the leaders, as we see in the lives of the baker and cupbearer who served Pharoah in Joseph's day (Gen. 40). Your position and mine are in God's hands too.
Not only the positions of leadership but also the very actions of leaders are ultimately under the control of our sovereign Lord. Proverbs 21:1 says, 'The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He will.' Even those who pronounced an unjust judgment on Jesus unknowingly fulfilled God's purposes: 'Truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You appointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your plan had predestined to take place.' (Acts 4:27-28).
We are responsible to seek the election of wise and just leaders. We are also responsible to honor and pray for them (Rom. 13:1-7 / I Tim. 2:1-4) -- even those whom we distrust or perhaps dislike. Ultimately, even in times when leaders disappoint us or when they rule unjustly and against everything we believe as Christians (remember the Caesars in biblical times!) Jesus still reigns.
Our hope should not be built on earthly positions of leadership, but on a heavenly throne. Whoever wins the presidential election on November 4, we as Christians know that Jesus sits in the most supremely powerful office and God's will for the nations of the world will be accomplished."
Isaiah said it well -- "Your God Reigns!" That's the Good News! (Isaiah 52:7) He reigns and will continue to do so, even if the party or candidate we think everyone should vote for loses! Our disappointments are not a sign that God has somehow been dethroned or defeated! Our hope is not in flawed political systems (or the flawed leaders that run them), but in the flawless One who rules over all. Look to Him as the object of your temporal and eternal hope, and let your soul be at rest in the midst of all the political, religious and economic turmoil,
Dr. Jeffrey F. Evans
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