At the writing of this article–on the eve of the election–I do not have any clue who will win the presidential race. It is a close one, they say, and I can’t begin to guess (nor have the patience to research) who may be leading in the electoral count. It differs from day to day anyway.
That said, I can only guess what this Friday will be like when this article is published in our dearly beloved newspaper. I can guess, and hope.
According to Psalm 24:1, “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it; the world and all who dwell therein.” That being the case, I hope that, by now, all of us can take a collective sigh of relief to know that campaign ads, partisan emails, and robocalls will cease.
The election may not turn out the way any one of us had hoped, but we can finally get on with our lives minus the tensions and undertow of the political back-and-forth that’s set an oppressive tone in our national discourse of late.
I hope we realize that things are probably the same today as they were on Monday, and our calling in Christ–to minister to all God’s creation regardless of who is in charge on earth–is very much valid and badly needed.
For starters: The middle class had their day in the spotlight; now it’s time to turn our attention to the needs of the poor among us. Government aside, we are all responsible to be our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers in this community, and the poor especially.
Family Promise will still need funds and volunteers, the upcoming 5K run for Rockdale Emergency Relief will need support, and our churches will still need you to show up and be counted at all of the events they list on the community bulletin board in the Citizen.
I hope that, by now, we will remember that Jesus is still King of kings and Lord of lords. Yes, someone will be victorious over the White House, and both houses of Congress may still be controlled by opposing parties, but God is still God, and we are still not God. We will have to compromise, debate, and work through the political process as best we can, and seek God’s compassionate guidance while not claiming that any of us has a monopoly on knowing God’s will for public policy.
I hope that we realize that our schools need local support because only when we parents and teachers and local leaders work together can we make a real difference in our county’s education system. If Genesis 1 is correct, then all our children are made in God’s image and they deserve the best care and education we have to offer.
I hope we can slow down. Last week, I spoke with one of my parishioners who is on short-term disability. When I asked how she was doing, she said that she slept the first 8 days being home. I thought she was joking, but she literally slept almost every day for nearly 18 hours a day!
She made a profound statement: “Joe, I didn’t realize just how exhausted I was until I finally stopped working myself to death and stayed home to get well. I think we all run on empty.”
I don’t know about you, but the past six months has indeed been exhausting. I haven’t even watched the news during the campaign, but it seemed that this past political season was especially trying–and tiring. We have been running on empty here lately, have we not?
I believe it when God’s Word says that all that is in the earth and the world is God’s; so, we can be assured that the Holy Spirit will fill us for a new day. God will guide us, and God will take care of us. God will continue to empower us for ministry and give us opportunities to do what needs to be done. God is God; and, thankfully, even now after the election is over, we are not. Praise God.
Baptist Spirituality 