I’ve been reflecting about how we as believers in the good news of Jesus Christ, and committed to living out it’s implications in all of life, should be thinking and acting during this time of elections, as we seek to remain faithful to Scripture.
Let me state upfront that who and which party you vote for, and how actively involved (or uninvolved) you are, is a matter that the Bible leaves to the conscience of the individual – it does not dictate one party, or one candidate over another.
I do however think that there are some broad guidelines that the Bible gives us to consider the issues at hand, and how we should respond. Hence, I’m planning to do a couple of post (God willing), looking at the storyline of the Bible, and how that may influence how we think about voting and participating (in other ways) in the coming elections.The broad storyline of the Bible moves from Creation, to Fall, to Redemption and Restoration.
Here’s a quick summary first:
Creation
God Created the world good and perfect, and humanity in His image to rule and steward the created order according to His character and purpose (Genesis 1-2) – we are supposed to responsibly govern the created order, His perfect Kingdom in accordance with the perfect wisdom, truth, goodness, love, holiness, righteousness, justice, mercy, and beauty of God.
Fall
Unfortunately, humans chose to use that privilege to usurp God’s authority, and rebel, plunging humanity and the created order into a state of alienation, distance and enmity with God (Genesis 3) – all the pain, suffering, injustice, selfishness, and inequality in this world has its roots in this fall. The very best of us are terribly flawed, and yet still terribly beautiful and with great potential because the image of God remains in us, though marred. That applies to the parties, the candidates, and us the voters, equally.
Redemption
While God would have been perfectly just in leaving humanity and the created order in this self-chosen rebellious state, and one that he would have to ultimately judge and condemn in accordance with his character of perfect justice, his perfect mercy meant that he did not do that but chose instead to put in place a plan to redeem humanity and the created order (Genesis 4 – Revelation 20). This plan culminated in the sending of Jesus Christ, his only son to bear the penalty of this rebellion on humanities behalf. He then rose again, proving that he had conquered this rebellion, and re-established God’s rightful rule. He then ascended to heaven and promised that he would come again. In this ‘intermediate’ period between Christ ascending to heaven and his coming again, we live in a tension of the ‘now and the not yet’, where God’s rule is partially here, yet not completely (re) established. Here and now is the time for the people of God to live out the implications of God’s redemptive work. It is a time of sober hopefulness. In some ways, God’s kingdom has been re-established, hence Jesus can say, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand”. But, the presence of sin remains, and so we await the full fulfillment of that Kingdom, and we still pray, “Let your kingdom come”. So, as much as possible, we seek to function and live, reflecting the perfect character and care of God in this time.
Restoration
When Christ comes again, he will judge the living and the dead, and his perfect justice and mercy will be seen. Justice for those who continue to rebel, and mercy for those who have repented and trusted in Him. This is the time that all injustice, pain, suffering in this world will be set right, once and for all. The created order will be restored to its former beauty. This is what we place our ultimate hope in, this is where we keep our eyes on. However, as we live in the ‘here’, the ‘there’ gives us the vision and perspective for how to live and behave ‘here’. Again, as much as possible, we seek to live and behave (and vote!) in a way that is consistent with the perfection that is to come. As much as possible, where it is within our power, should we not seek to see in our lives, and the structures of our societies and the created order, the perfection that is to come?
[Note: These views are purely my own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations that I am a part of]
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