ELECTION REFLECTION – 2020
October 27th – Introduction
Today, we are introducing a series of daily posts for the next week, each based on questions from the Westminster Shorter Catechism (WSC), designed as an “election reflection”.
Politics. Do we have to go there? And what does the Westminster Shorter Catechism have to do with politics? In a word: Prayer. We have access to the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and are called to prayer. In Q&A 100-107 of the WSC, we are instructed about the Lord’s Prayer, and the Biblical basis for each of its petitions.
We have been through some challenging times, in terms of politics, haven’t we? But, beloved, what we refer to as “politics” in our country – the ongoing exercise of our representative republic form of democratic government, and the struggles for power that it entails – is nothing new for us as fallen humanity. In the books of Kings and Chronicles, we see the exercise of politics and struggle for power, as we do in the New Testament, when the Pharisees plotted to end the ministry of Jesus Christ, and when Julius Caesar was assassinated, through the writing of Niccolo Machiavelli called The Prince, when Abraham Lincoln was ridiculed as president and later assassinated… the list goes on. The point being, that we do not have to wonder or fear: “Oh my! How have we come to this point?!” This is actually “normal” for fallen humanity, outside the saving grace of Jesus.
But we are God’s elect – strangers in the world (1 Peter 1:1) – a chosen people, and a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God. Indeed, we are aliens and strangers in the world (2 Peter 2:9-12) – a pilgrim people, and mere sojourners in this earthly place we call “the United States of America”, in this time we call “2020”. In fact, we are citizens of a heavenly kingdom which cannot be shaken, where Jesus Christ reigns and sits on a throne for all the ages, forever and ever. Our salvation ensures us an entrance into that kingdom and we are actually heirs to it with Christ (2 Peter 1:10-12; James 2:5; Romans 8:16-17).
Because of this true citizenship, our hope can be found there, and in the love of Jesus Christ, with whom we share this inheritance We do not need to worry about the outcome of any election, and our hope should not be placed there.
For a time though, as sojourners in this earthly kingdom, we can honor our Lord and Savior by embodying a conspicuous love and concern for the things He was concerned about. In Luke 4, when Jesus proclaims himself as the fulfillment of Isaiah 61:1-2, he revealed why he was anointed by the Father for his ministry.
Politics are merely the practical means by which a people manage their lives together. Good things are provided, like: roads, bridges, parks, protection from aggressors, etc. It is our sinful nature and the struggle for power that corrupts the process. But as the redeemed church, we can display a conspicuous love for our neighbor by leveraging politics to pursue the good of all people. This is an opportunity for Christians. Because we are not of this world, we should be set apart from how the world conducts these matters. But rather, 1 Peter 2:11-12 tells us: “11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.”
May our conduct – always, but especially now -- be so honorable, that our Lord Jesus Christ is glorified.
Hopefully, this series of reflections will be an encouragement to you, an invitation to pray, and will help to center your thinking during these coming weeks.
With love, and in service to New City Fellowship, we are…
Your Elders – Darryl Bradford, Josh Vander Meulen, Soo Bin Lee, Dave Werner