If God is for us, who could be against us?

I was thinking about the future or America the other day. Actually, I find myself thinking about the future of America pretty much every day lately. It’s all very worrisome isn’t it? Whether you’re a Conservative, a Liberal or somewhere in between, you’re probably feeling at least some angst about what will become of us after the election in November. No matter which candidate wins the presidency, this country is in for some pretty big changes that will be very hard for the other side to accept.

I could tell you why I’m foursquare against becoming a socialist nation but it doesn’t really matter. I could tell you how I think the office of the President of the United States would be disgraced by a president who is already under federal investigation for things that legally disqualify her from holding any public office, but apparently that doesn’t matter. I could tell you how I cringe at the thought of a president who shows no wisdom or personal restraint when it comes to insulting and disparaging those who disagree with him in even the slightest way, but that doesn’t matter either. My views are riddled with points that would be fiercely argued by anyone who holds a different view.

There is tremendous division in our nation because we all recognize that what we have co-created as a society is not working for The People anymore and we’ve been trained like obedient dogs to place the blame for it all on the shoulders of the people and politicians on the other side of the isle. “You’re destroying this country!” “No! YOU’RE destroying this country!” “No, YOU!”…

We’ve allowed ourselves to become so polarized that losing feels like a life or death proposition. Will this be the end of the world for us? No. Will it tear us apart as a nation? We must not let it. No matter what’s going on in Washington we have to live with one another. In this context, war or peace is a personal choice.

Some of us believe that to lose this election means our nation is on a course of certain destruction. And that reminds me of a story in the Bible.

In Genesis 18 we learn that the perversions in the land of Sodom have so grieved the Lord that He has determined to destroy it. No new laws or talking or pleading was going to persuade the people there to stop living in absolute depravity so the only solution was to rain down burning sulfur and blot the entire city off the face of the earth. Abraham was so grieved by the idea that good people would be destroyed with the bad that he spoke boldly to the Lord, “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”  The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

Abraham worried that there might not actually be fifty righteous people left in Sodom so he pressed the Lord by asking Him if He would still spare the city if there were only forty five righteous people. Then twenty. Then 10. Each time the Lord responded that for the sake of the righteous He would spare the whole city.

Sadly, it turned out that Abraham’s nephew, Lot, and his family were the only righteous people in Sodom… so God sent angels to take them out before He moved ahead with destroying the whole city.

What’s the point? God is still in this with us. Whether a country or a people are blessed is still His call. He is not up in Heaven holding His face in His hands wondering how in the world He is going to save America if Donald Trump becomes president.

There are a lot of righteous people in this country. There are a lot of wonderful, beautiful, altruistic, compassionate, humanitarians in this country. Not all of them are Conservatives. Not all of them are Liberals. Not all of them are believers either. At least not yet. God, in His infinite wisdom laid the foundations of this world and created all who are in it. He hasn’t abandoned us. He hasn’t been painted into a corner by politics no matter what you think.

No matter who becomes the next president of the United States, God is still with us and He still reigns. He still counts on His people to be light in a dark world. Light that warms others and reveals the love of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Raging against those who don’t see things as you do is not righteous. Praying for those who persecute you or what you believe is.Be one of the righteous people still living in this land.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Matt 5:43

By all means, vote your conscience but, Christian, we are not being called to go to war with those who don’t share our faith or agree with our plans for America. We Christians are Christ followers not appointed enforcers for our version of morality. Put your focus on being someone God would approve of. Love your neighbor do good to others and don’t waste toomuch time worrying about the future. God’s got this.

Remember, in the end, only three things remain. Faith, hope and love, and the greatest of these is love. Love is the one thing we each have within our own power and control.

 

In His love and service,

Sharon Bollum