It's Gonna Be Okay

I'm still chewing on testing the boundaries and getting Egypt out of my system. Pretty meaty stuff. But life has a way of just trouncing on, whether we keep up or not. Orchestra practice comes around every week, whether I have practiced or not!

So here we are, one week out from the elections and I don't feel very prepared at all. There are always ballot measures and both sides always predict dire outcomes if I don't vote their way. And I can seldom see the logic to the arguments. I'm just not cut out for politics. I'd rather deal with people one on one than try to judge or rule or even suggest what should be done in general. I mean, for the most part, I think we have it pretty good, especially compared to the rest of the world. Why do we need to change anything? No government system is perfect, there will always be inequity. Even Jesus noted, "The poor you will always have..."

Politics aside, there is a bigger picture. We got a double whammy at church this week...and it just winds in and out of my life like a vine climbing a trellis. I know I'm going to sound like I'm rambling, but I promise, it all ties together, like this vine--so much so, I can't seem to chop it into little bite-size tidbits. So, here it is....again, just from a little different perspective.

Gordon talked about the prodigal son recently. (If you are not familiar with the story, you can find it in Luke 15:11-32.) Essentially we see the story of a man with two sons, one who is faithful and stays and works for his father and the other who takes his share of the inheritance and squanders it and comes, repentant, back to his father. Of course, the father is delighted to have him back and throws a big party; while the faithful son is jealous.

Then Mark took it one giant step further on Sunday. He told the story of David and Absalom. (You can find this story in 2 Samuel 13-19.) To sum it up, Absalom does a bad thing, flees his father David, and even when he gets word that David is willing to forgive him, still plays the politician and plots to take his throne. In battle, when Absalom gets stuck in a tree, the leader of David's army, Joab, kills him despite David's prior admonition, "Be gentle with the young man Absalom for my sake." And when David learns of this, he weeps.

In 2 Peter 3:8-9 it says, "But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."

Clearly, God has the father's heart toward the repentent prodigal, and He has David's heart toward the unrepentent Absalom. He has not returned yet because He is not wanting ANYONE to perish, but EVERYONE to come to repentance. Who are we to argue? We clearly need to celebrate over the man we have known for 20 years who FINALLY starts listening to God. But just as clearly we need to make every effort to present even those who are yet unrepentant alive before God, so that HE can deal with them. We don't have God's permission to write ANYONE off--not the one who slips off the wagon again; not the one who has never wanted to hear about God before, so why should I tell him again; not the one who disagrees with me on political issues; not the one who disagrees with me on moral issues; not the guy across the street who yells at his grandkids; not anyone.

It's my job to present the gospel, to be the truest representative of God's heart for other people as I can be. It's God's job to change people's minds; it's God's job to change people's hearts; it's only my job to facilitate that relationship, in any way I can.

No matter who wins the election, it's my job to pray for them. No matter how my neighbors, parents, friends or husband vote, it's my job to love them and to encourage them in their relationship with God. No matter WHO wins, it's gonna be okay.

(And even if the "wrong" guy wins, this is still the best country on earth to live in. )