we serve a king & a kingdom.

I usually choose to remain silent during election season, and times when political issues are extremely popular. I haven’t always been that way, but I think I have learned the wisdom in keeping my mouth shut if I don’t have anything beneficial to add to the dialogue. Ephesians 4:29 says: “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.” (NASB, emphasis my own) So, that is my sole intention here: to edify according to the need of the moment so that it will give grace to those to hear.

I was greatly blessed by a blog post I read here yesterday. The entire article is excellent, definitely worth the read, but this portion is what resonated most with me:

My husband and I had dinner with my parents the other night, and we got to talking about how God enters our messy stories and does big things with small people. The genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1 is quite the cast of characters, full of scandal and rebellion and deception and intrigue as bad or worse than any we’ve seen in modern day America. Then my dad pointed out something about the story of Ruth.

Have you ever noticed where in Israel’s history the story of Ruth and Boaz takes place? It’s in the middle of the book of Judges, when Israel is making a bloody mess and clamoring for a king to fix it all. (Sound familiar? It does to me!) The big picture is dismal, tragic, and chaotic. But in a tiny town named Bethlehem, one righteous man and one foreigner who chooses to follow Jehovah come together, and they are the great great grandparents of King David, who is in Jesus’ lineage. I love this story. This is what God specializes in – working big things out of small people doing the right thing in a small place, out of the limelight and ignored by everyone of consequence. Stories like this give me hope in the face of the ugliness, the increasing bitterness, and the chaos in our country.

How true is that?! The big picture is that, as followers of the Way, His kingdom is what we are living for. Rulers and leaders come and go. Some good, some bad. All ordained and permitted by His good, sovereign hand. All of them. The ones we just don’t like. The cruel, wicked, murderous ones. The godly ones.

So, what is our response?

• We live before our God & our neighbor with integrity, love, & grace. We follow Christ & He does the work to advance His kingdom. One that cannot be shaken or overcome. One that is eternal and perfect.
• In case I have to say it: Yes, vote. Yes, take full advantage of the freedoms & blessings we enjoy in this country. But remember what’s really important. Remember that we are not the center of this planet & that America is not called to be His ambassador. I am. And you are.
• Remember what His Word has to say about governments & authorities. Romans 13.
• Remember Ephesians 4:29 & Philippians 2:12-18. The godly response is never to complain. That’s not okay.
• Remember to intercede for your leaders. Even before you know who they are today. I don’t know if any of you follow Beth Moore’s blog, but on Monday, she asked her readers to pray Scripture over our next President before we know who he is. If you’re not sure where to start, she suggests thinking about how you would want people to pray if your husband were elected President on Tuesday.

And that’s about all I have to say. I’m trusting Him & PRAISING that He works BIG things out of small people who are committed to follow Him.