America’s Savior

One thing you may not realize about churches (especially since too many try to marry themselves to one political party or another) is that we are called to avoid publicly endorsing political candidates running for office. While we are free to take stances on issues, aligning with one political party has implications that affect our not-for-profit standing. So, this will not be a letter endorsing one political party or candidate over another.

 

 

Which actually works for me, because as I consider the people running for office I’m really not inclined to endorse any of them. In fact, they all really have me scratching my head this cycle and wondering how this is the best America can do. It can all leave you feeling pretty hopeless actually.

 

 

That is, if that’s where you place all your hope. Fortunately for us, the people of God, we do not look to the next American president to save the world. Someone has already done it.  In the letter to the church in Philippi we get the all the reminder we need:

 

 

“…But our citizenship s in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20).

 

 

Before we were Americans voting for a president, we were children of God, Brothers and Sisters. Our citizenship is in heaven. In math, if you divide any number (even the biggest number you can think of) by infinity, the answer is still 0 (zero). So too, no amount of time on this earth can compare to eternity with our creator. That’s our home.

 

 

And yet, God still values the time we spend on this earth. God still values it enough to save us from ourselves and restore this broken creation. God sends the only Savior the world has ever needed, Jesus Christ.

 

 

Hopefully, the next leader of the free world will leave America better than s/he found it, but we don’t need them to save it. Jesus Christ has already done that. And not because we are American and especially blessed (we’re not), but because our citizenship is in heaven, and it’s from there that we receive salvation.