Yesterday as I was scrolling through the mix of emotions I was seeing, I came across one comment from someone I do not know at all. And yet, I can't get her off my mind. Her comment made me hold my breath. Made my heart stop....and my eyes well up with tears. It was simple and short, yet had a deeply profound impact on my heart. She is clearly not a Trump supporter and was expressing her anger. All she said was this:
Even typing out those words now creates a huge lump in my throat. You see because Mr. Trump was the Republican nominee and because most Christians are conservatives there is now this perception that he is somehow the Christians spokesperson. That he represents who all Christians are. The way he acts, the way he talks. While we as the body of Christ know that not one of us is the perfect example of Christianity, the rest of the word that does not know Him personally as their Savior...don't fully get that. We as Christians know that the only perfect example of Christianity was Jesus Christ himself. But yet we all know that those in the public eye are seen far more than the rest of us and held to a higher standard criticized more. We are all sinners saved by grace and I'm not here to judge where Mr. Trump is in his faith because I don't know him personally. However this comment has rocked me to my very core.
You see the world already hated Christians. They already thought we were hypocritical. And we just gave them all the more reason to do so. We did this to ourselves....now hear me out please. I beg you...this is a life or death matter for so many lost souls in this country. And I'm not saying anyone is a bad person for voting for Trump (or even not voting for him)..BUT: The world watched as we, Christians, praised him. Campaigned for him. Shared our stance on him all over social media. Liked and shared things mean-spirited about people who don't share our views. Let our anger take over and be known. Engaged in heated debates that had hurtful things said. The world watched as we made excuses for his actions and his word choices. Watched as we were asked how we could support someone who used such hateful words, and yet we used the line of we are all sinners...we have all said bad things. Friends today, more than ever, the lost souls...the souls who do not know Jesus personally have been pushed further from our grasp. We have pushed our stance on issues so much that we have pushed away the people we are called to reach. The people we are called to love in such a profound way that they want to know our Savior. That they want to know why we are different. That they want to have the light that is inside of us, inside of them. We have grasped with everything we have our stances on political issues, that we have pushed away so many that need Jesus.
Now here me as I say this....we are called to obey Jesus' laws. We are called to live by His truths but friends....we are also called to love in such a profound way that we are different than the world in that way as well. We should be voting on our principles and morals. We should be keeping Jesus' truth at the forefront of our minds when we do our duty to vote, but the bottom line is...no...no government policy is going to save us. No government policy is going to change this world as much as JESUS is. That's the message non-Christians should be hearing in election season from our lips. And in order for Jesus to change the world, we have to start by winning hearts for Him.
Mr. Trump will take office in January 2017. People on all sides of the spectrum are going to have to come to terms with that and we will have to respect him as our president. But Church, it is now our turn to RISE UP and be the hands and feet of Jesus. Don't just say where we stand on things, but actually do things to help those causes. Win hearts for Him. Show the world who He truly is. Show the world how much love, kindness, grace, mercy, and forgiveness are found in Him and Him alone. We have our work cut out for us....this world is hurting more now that it probably ever has in my generation. But if we make Jesus the center of everything we do and say, maybe we can win more hearts for Him than ever before. Doesn't mean we won't mess up. Doesn't mean we will be perfect. But it does mean that people like that commenter can maybe get a glimpse of who Jesus really is. That we can be a witness for Christ and help change some hearts. Because when hearts are won for Jesus...that's when change and unity truly begins.....
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