Moving On...

I was quite disheartened when I heard the results of the election this morning. My heart truly sank to an unfathomable depth and my first thought was, "The floodgates to immorality has just been opened. Just as God brought judgment upon his people in the Old Testament, He is going to bring judgment upon America."

Then, I was reminded by Mr. Jerry Bridges that "God is in control of all nations, shaping events and decisions to fulfill His purposes." I will trust God and I will pray for our leaders.

Yet, I still felt turmoil within me, maybe it was fear, maybe it was anger, but I needed to find resolution to this turmoil.

Then, I read an article written by Mr. John Piper, "Let Christians Vote As Though They Were Not Voting", and he started off with this verse:

The appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away. (1 Corinthians 7:29-31, ESV)

He says that voting is like a marriage, momentary, and it is over at death. We could even say that our government is momentary and only for this lifetime. "Political life is for making much of Christ whether the world falls apart or holds together."

He goes on to say that voting is like those who mourn. "We mourn. But not as those who have no hope." Our hope for our society is not our government. The ills of our society come from our sin and the Government is not a god who can fix those ills. Instead, our only hope is in Christ Jesus and our main concern is the continual freedom we have as Christians to share the gospel to those around us and hope that they hear His truth and be saved. Though "in the short run, Christians lose, in the long run, we win."

"So our joy [in voting] is modest. Our triumphs are short-lived—and shot through with imperfection."

"Politics does not have ultimate weight for us. It is one more stage for acting out the truth that Christ, and not politics, is supreme."

"We deal with the system. We deal with the news. We deal with the candidates. We deal with the issues. But we deal with it all as if not dealing with it. It does not have our fullest attention. It is not the great thing in our lives. Christ is. And Christ will be ruling over his people with perfect supremacy no matter who is elected and no matter what government stands or falls. So we vote as though not voting."

My resolution to this turmoil was that I did what I could to bring to the Presidency the candidate I thought would uphold and reflect Christ the most. I have come to a place of peace and can appreciate the fact that we CANNOT transform America through our government and that true transformation/reformation can only come through Jesus Christ. Our government's reach is limited and temporal whereas Christ's reach is endless and eternal. He is our hope, our great and sovereign ruler, and that's why I/WE can trust in Him.