MONDAY MEDITATION: Election Day Eve (November 4)

Since we belong to the day, let’s stay sober, wearing faithfulness and love as a piece of armor that protects our body and the hope of salvation as a helmet. — 1 Thessalonians 5:8

Tomorrow promises to be one of the most contentious, nerve-wracking elections ever. It’s helpful to put things in perspective from a broader biblical perspective.

There are two diverging themes in the Bible. One is that we live in a fallen creation badly in need of redemption. That’s why Jesus came into the world, to die for us sinners. This is called “redemptionist” theology, as I remember from seminary. The second is that we live in a creation that God called fundamentally good. That’s why Jesus was born, so that God could experience life in human form and bless it further. This is called “incarnational” theology.

The truth is, you need both for the full picture. Sin has to be addressed, confessed, and forgiven. The goodness of life embedded in creation has to be honored and celebrated. You can’t fully have one without acknowledging the other.

Politically, there seems to be two diverging themes. One is holding onto the values of the past, as we remember and cherish them. (Sometimes that might get skewed into imagining a “great” American past that must somehow be restored.) The other is celebrating the diversity we have now as a good thing and moving positively ahead into a developing future.

The truth is, you need people from both sides to get the full picture. The good embedded in our constitutional framework, and the traditions/sacrifices made on behalf of our principles, provide guidance and guardrails. But the future promises to be better than anything in the past; we learn from historical mistakes as well as from new voices in order to discover the promise our nation still holds.

It’s a sign of the times that we separate into two camps. Theologically and politically, though, we need to see ourselves in one big camp. The future hinges on us learning from and growing together, adopting the attitude that we can learn from those with whom we disagree, just as they can from us.