Let me be clear, I DO NOT desire for Obama to win. I will vote for McCain, not because I necessarily feel that McCain has everything figured out regarding our economy, foreign affairs, the war in Iraq and so on. I will vote for McCain because his ethical convictions are more aligned with my biblical world-view and ethics; Obama's are clearly not.
I was recently speaking with a fellow Christian about the anticipated response from the Christian community if Obama were to win. I asked him, "What ought to be the proper response?" To that, this mature believer, an elder of a fairly large church no less, responded with lament about how the Supreme Court will be taken over [by liberals] and how we will lose our freedom of speech and about how pastors will be denied the freedom to preach the Gospel. Sadly, this only shows the lacking faith within the conservative evangelical church. If judging by our fears, God is not all-supreme nor is He sovereign.
I am simply dumbfounded that we Christians, and particularly those of us in the reformed tradition that claim to "get" the sovereignty of God, can live in such fear and anxiety over who rules in our nation, as if God Himself does not put him or her there (Daniel 2:21, 4:35). This is a clear example of what happens when we politicize our faith and use it to "express essentially political points that have lost touch with biblical truth." 1 This is not a sign of strength but of weakness in the Body of Christ.
Where is our hope, my brothers and sisters? Is it in Christ or is it in politics? Listen to Piper, "Politics does not have ultimate weight for us. It is one more stage for acting out the truth that Christ, and not politics, is supreme." 2 What will it take for us to stop hoping in a passing world (1 John 2:17) and instead to place our hope in Christ Jesus?
If the Supreme Court is taken over by liberals or whoever, God is still sovereign is He not?
If we lose our freedom of speech, God is still sovereign is He not?
If pastors are denied the freedom to preach the Gospel, by the power of the Holy Spirit, they will preach it anyway. Some may suffer and even die. Yet, God's kingdom will advance and it will thrive because victory has already been won and it does not matter who lives in the White House! Certainly, vote according to your convictions, it is your civic responsibility; the outcome is for God to determine.
Christians, ready yourselves, stop bolstering fear in the flock; your King has come. Place your faith in Christ! Place your hope in Christ for it is in Christ alone that you have the only freedom you need! So, REJOICE!
1 Evangelical Manifesto, 15.
2 Piper, John, Let Christians Vote as Though They Were Not Voting.