I, like many of you, I’m sure, am concerned about the unity of the Church in NE Ohio and in our nation. After such an exhausting and exasperating election, we know that not all true believers today are feeling the same.
I have friends here in NE Ohio – all passionate followers of Christ – who woke up feeling very, very differently today.
Here in Cleveland/Cuyahoga county, we have a sizable number of passionate Christ-followers who voted for Trump mainly because of SCOTUS/pro-life issues even though his bullying, locker room-ish, sexist persona was deeply offensive to them.
We also have a sizable number of passionate Christ-followers who voted for Hillary because to them being pro-life means not only caring for the unborn, but caring about gun control and caring for those who are suffering from various kinds of social injustices.
We also have a sizable number of passionate Christ-followers who, despite the knowledge that a non-vote for one was a vote for the other, could not bring themselves vote for either candidate – who wrote in names like Mike Pence or Bernie Sanders.
I believe we need to respect the right of believers to land in different places regarding this election.
May this divisive 1 1/2 years not drive wedges between brothers and sisters in Christ. May it instead draw us closer to the Lord and to each other – to pray more passionately the II Chronicles 7:14 prayer, to pray for our outgoing and incoming elected officials, to put more and more trust in Christ, to grow more and more obedient to Him, and to pray and work together more faithfully to grow His Church in the nation and world.
Let’s listen more than we talk. Let’s remember that the appropriate posture for every believer before, during, and after an election is always a posture of brokenness, humility, and repentance.
The great Old Testament civic leader Daniel shows the way:
“Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession…” Daniel 9;3-4).
