KEY SCRIPTURE 2 Peter 1:10
Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
APPLICATION
Well, Australia's purportedly most important election has now come and gone, and the word I'm going to use for it is 'interesting'. The tables turned on the two major parties, as both seem to have lost the confidence of their respective core voters.
Our key scripture outlines what a political party should do to instil and maintain the assurance required for successive wins. If they do, they "shall never fall".
We're fortunate to live in a democracy where the people ultimately have the power to remove and replace, and we do just that.
I remember a Victorian State politician I spoke with years ago. After asking about his continued success of 75% primary vote for 23 years, he replied, "It's simple. I work hard, get results, and tell the people!"
It's not only Christians who need to make their calling and election sure. Governments, as we've just seen, need to do the same.
Every few years, our Governments change hands. Like a Grand Final match, in the end some of us weep while others rejoice. Whichever way we vote here on earth, and whatever the outcome, reality is that our real Prime Minister is Jesus Christ, and the Kingdom, or country, to which God has called us is not here.
We can lament or rejoice as governments rise and fall, but we must never put all of our faith and future in them. Yes, we need to protect our country from sinful changes as far as possible, but our callings and elections are higher, and we cannot take our eyes off that!
Our Lord calls us not to lose faith nor be nudged off course by earthly matters. Our Kingdom is far more profound, and we need to put our all into it.
Matthew 7:13 says, "Enter ye in at the strait (narrow) gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:"
This narrow gate and pathway requires faith because it is built on promises of things to come, not on things we can see. Successive governments would like us to have the same faith in their promises, but it's not the same, is it?
While election outcomes may cause concern, they do not defeat us. Our Lord knows exactly what is going on, so let's keep walking forward with focus on His plans and policies.
PRAYER
Dear Lord, elections get me worried at times, but when I re-focus on you, my eyes see above the provisional governments to the Kingdom of your glory and rejoice to know you are in control of every change.