What am I Missing Here?
Meditation for the week of August 14, 2011
(Jeremiah 17:5) Thus says the LORD: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the LORD.
(Jeremiah 17:7) "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD.
The political process of electing Presidents and Congressional representatives never stops in the U.S. It is enough to give a real Christian a real headache. We tend to talk freely about politicians who can solve the problems in the U.S., but in the political process I never hear about the need for regeneration by trusting in the Lord Jesus to get us back on the right moral track. I hear each candidate saying that they are the answer to our problems and that they can change things for the better. Many of these candidates claim to be Christians. Now if they are Christians, their mandate is found in Matthew 28:19-20 where the Lord says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." The political process does not accomplish that commission. Only the preaching of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ accomplishes that since the Lord uses the preached Word to bring people to faith in Him. That faith will bring about real change by changing people from the inside out and giving them a new life, a new spiritual King, and a new destiny.
If Christians are the answer to our problems, why don’t Christian politicians act like Christians in their campaigns? For example, a Christian is to esteem others better than themselves (Philippians 2:3). A Christian is to be quick to hear and slow to speak (James 1:19). A Christian is to honor the present leaders (Romans 13:7, 1 Peter 2:17). A Christian is to show the 15 characteristics of love found in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. That includes being patient, not being envious, not promoting themselves nor should they be filled with pride. Proverbs 27:2 says, “Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth.” How many politicians could win debates and elections if they adhered to these standards? So my question is, “Why do we Christians always want to vote for Christians if they are bound to lose if they act like Christians should act in their campaigns?” What am I missing here? The debates and campaign speeches that I have heard and the sound bite ads that I see and hear all violate these basic standards of decency. The general thinking seems to be that if you don’t tear down your opponent and if you don’t exalt yourself, you simply won’t win. Even candidates that try not to tear down their opponents, still exalt themselves as though they are the answer. Of course, after the elections everyone is disappointed because, in the real world, nobody can solve our problems like they say they can during the campaigns.
The stage is being set for the world to accept a man who says he can bring about peace and economic stability to the whole world. We read about that man in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 and in Revelation 13. I am concerned that Christians will have wasted their time on political reformation instead of spiritual regeneration. As a result there will be enough unsaved religious people left after the Lord comes to convince the world that the missing people have not really been raptured. After all, if the rapture had occurred wouldn’t all these well meaning religious people be gone? The stage is being set for the man of sin (antichrist as some call him) to take control and deceive the world after the Lord comes because everyone is looking for a man with the answers, but they aren’t looking to Christ. That seems to include many who call themselves Christians. The only problem is that this man will require the world to worship him and not Christ in order to buy or sell in the marketplace. He will be a deceiver and murderer just like Satan who is his boss.
If I am right, what should Christians do? We can’t stop what God has predicted will happen. But we can get back to the business of putting our trust in the Lord and not in men and women in the political system. We can get back to the business of being evangelical in the Biblical sense. We can warn people that things are going to get worse before the Lord sets up His physical kingdom and things get better.
My hope is not in the best of the best in the political system. My confidence is in the Lord who died to save me from my sins. I am not looking for a man who can save us politically. He doesn’t exist. Only one Man met those qualifications in the history of mankind and He was crucified. I am going to trust that Man because He can save us eternally and I am going to preach that Man. He can give us the real change that we need.
Bruce Collins