What the Election Means
November 3, 2020
I trust that you voted. I did and encouraged all of my family to. It is an important responsibly that we have.
For many months now we have heard all kinds of people speaking from their own variety of wisdom, telling us what is going to happen depending on who was elected in this 2020 election. But neither candidate is truly capable of changing the world. It’s not completely where our hope as Jesus-followers belongs.
Jesus told Pilate, the governor, before He was led to be crucified, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” John 18:36
Jesus was not leading a political movement; He was leading a spiritual movement to change the hearts of people for eternity. In 2020, that is still what Jesus is about. After the election, despite what side you were on, if you claim to be a Christian, Jesus is still King, and very little should change for you.
Regardless of who is in the Oval Office:
Jesus-followers have a not-of-this-world perspective. The Jesus-followers of the early days changed their world because they were “admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them” (Hebrews 11:13-16). Their perspectives were shaped by the knowledge that things here are not as they will be. The things of this world will pass away, but the things of His kingdom will last forever.
Jesus-followers fight with weapons that are not of this world. Our enemy is spiritual, as are our weapons and tactics of battle. Our weapons are not votes and speeches and conquering by powerful moves. Our weapons are living and working in the love of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit. “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4).
Jesus-followers have power not of this world. “We place our faith in the Spirit of God, not by the might or power we can gather up” (Zechariah 4:6). “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God” (Psalm 20:7). We choose to live with a paradox: “When I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10), because “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). We don’t “power up” to win. We choose humility and honor.
Jesus-followers have peace not of this world. Our peace in any situation comes straight from our Lord, the Prince of Peace: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you” (John 14:27). Nothing can take that away. Our peace doesn’t fluctuate with who is the president because Jesus is always the King.
Jesus-followers have a home not of this world. We belong to another kingdom. “Our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20). Those who have lived and died in the faith knew this world was not their home, nor ours. We look forward to the Father's house, where there are "many rooms" (John 14:2). We know that here we have no lasting city; we’re not really at home here, but we “seek the city that is to come" (Hebrews 13:14).
Being “not of this world” means we have a higher, heavenly calling, purpose, and destination. “This world and its priorities are fading away, but the one who does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:17). Getting caught up in the details of life here and forgetting the eternal and forever Kingdom of God is an epic fail for a Christian—you can’t actually call yourself a Jesus-follower.
The election doesn’t change anything that is eternal or truly matters. Focus on Jesus, the King, and the kingdom that is not of this world.
P.S. Last week, someone I admire greatly, Pastor Andy Stanley, penned a beautiful piece in Time magazine titled, “What Christians Should Do If Their Candidate Loses the 2020 Election." It's worth the read.