Thoughts on Election Day, 2024

November 5, 2024

Dear Christians,

As we face yet another election day in this blessed country of ours, it goes without saying that the future (both immediate and far) is uncertain. I know, “Thanks for stating the obvious,” right? Yet, though there is much to be anxious about and rightfully concerned about, there is also a great truth that we can remain confident in. Namely, God is forever faithful. His Word is unfailing. His plan is undaunting. His ways are always perfect and just. Even though we, as human beings with limited, finite understanding, cannot know the secret things of the Lord, we can rest with great joy and assurance in the things He has revealed to us.

There is much discussion and even debate over so-called “Christian Nationalism.” I purposefully refuse to discuss my thoughts on the subject (at least for now), except to say that 1) YES, Jesus IS indeed King! There is not anything anyone can do to change that, try as they may. AAAAND… 2) His kingdom is not of this world. In John 18:36, Jesus clearly and powerfully tells Pilate, “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” (English Standard Version). He went on to explain in v.37, “For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice” (ESV).

We currently live in a time that not all who are alive is “of the truth” nor do all who live, listen to the voice of the King and obey. However, there WILL indeed be a time when every knee will bow and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:10-11). There will also come a time when all who are “of the truth” will victoriously live in eternal joy and submission to their King in a world where thieves do not break in and steal, and where moth and rust cannot cause destruction or decay (Mt. 6:19-20), but that time is not yet.

In the meantime, while we are alive IN this world, particularly as citizens of the U.S.A., we would do well to remember that we are not OF this world. We are called to be salt and light amid a fallen world filled with darkness and depravity. We can do so with joy and not with fear, because we know that though Satan is the unseen ruler of this age, he is just as much defeated as he is destructive. We fight not against flesh and blood with carnal weapons, but we have weapons that are far more effective in pulling down demonic strongholds than anything we could ever come up with through human ingenuity (2 Cor. 10:4-5).

Among other things, we have the light of God’s absolute, unfailing truth to guide us, to comfort us, to correct us, to strengthen us, etc. The glorious truth of the gospel speaks not only of how Christ saved us from our sins, but it pertains ALSO to the fact that the sovereign grace that saved us, is the exact same grace that sustains, strengthens, and sanctifies us. From cradle to grave, and on into glory, God carries us through the time between the “now” and the “not yet”. We have been forever adopted into the family of God and we also are citizens of an everlasting kingdom than cannot by any means ever be shaken. Regardless of the outcome of this election, whether the candidate you vote for becomes president or not, our trust and our hope should never reside in the temporary nature of this sin-sickened world, and certainly not in one person such as a president. May we, by God’s great grace and peace that passes all understanding continue to run our race with joy and perseverance, knowing that though this world is passing away, one day, even all of creation itself will be renewed and restored to a glory that is presently unknown and of unsurpassed worth.

Blessings in Christ Jesus,

Keith M.