All votes have been counted. Joe Biden will be the next President of these United States. Pulpits from sea to shining sea will be delivering messages concerning this very development.
What that message says will tell everything about where their hearts have been over these last four years. Did these last four years reflect the Gospel, love, compassion or was another message sent to a watching and waiting world – something else entirely?
Speaking for myself, before yesterday I felt that if Trump were to get in, that things would become worse than these dark, past four years have been. Entropy. I felt that if Biden were to get in, that things would begin to get better, but I knew that it would not be easy. There are so many things that we as a people need to recognize, fix, and move forward on. I knew that there would be the true believers, those susceptible to Trump's cult of personality were still there just waiting for some ‘word to be given’, to sow violence and discord. Those who would want to see things get worse.
God help us all.
This is purported to be a “Christian Nation”. I have serious doubts about that for over the last four years I have not seen the evidence of that faith. I have not seen the fruit in the walks or lives of those who profess the name and calling of “Christianity”. This may be a watershed moment, in that, now that Biden is in, Christians will have to have the courage of their convictions.
Romans 13:1, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.” Therefore, now that Biden is considered to be the President elect, it is God’s will. A Christian will accept that. A “Christian” (with quotation marks), will not.
The reaction from the “Christian” evangelical right to Donald Trump, shook my faith even further than it was shaken prior to the election of 2016. Watching the American “Christian” evolve over these last four years has demonstrated to me the principal of the duck. That principal? “If it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck, it’s a duck.” The American “Christian” neither resembles nor sounds like a follower of Jesus Christ. No, American “Christianity” resembles idolatry to me. American “Christianity” has taken the Gospel and has misused and mistreated it as a means to praise, elevate, and worship Donald Trump. It was not that long ago that Romans 13:1 was used to defend Trump. Well, the Gospel is a double-edged sword. Come what may, God is still in control. Biden won the election, American “Christians” will have to come to grips with that. Christians will understand that God is the ultimate authority. American “Christians” will not, for they have been too concerned with Trump’s kingdom and have ignored God’s.
What damage has this done to the representation of the Gospel? On this side of the veil a Christian is the only Bible some people will ever read. What is that example? Where is the fruit? Can anyone look at an American “Christian” and honestly think to themselves, I want what this person has in their life? No. People are stepping away from the church due to the fact that people see that American “Christians” are not people who have joy, peace, or love in their hearts. They do not practice what they preach. Loving one’s neighbor, feeding the hungry, housing the poor, seeing to the sick – these have been branded as, “socialist” by American “Christians”. They have formed the message to their own ends. They have remade God in their own image to suit their needs. Jesus speaks of this in Matthew 7:15-20…
“15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”
There has been a endless parade of false prophets during the last four years. People making spectacles of themselves for a larger station in Trumps kingdom. So much damage has been done. So much continues to happen. To them, I can only say, stop what you are doing. You are misrepresenting the Gospel that you are claiming to represent. If you claim to be what you claim to be, repent. Repent of your sin. Go, and sin no more.
Repent.
Forgiveness is a watermark of the Christian faith. I have boatloads of issues and forgiveness is one of them. That is my cross to bear. However, those who can recognize the evils that have been committed, the ones that continue to happen, and now want to work to change them & make things right – forgiveness is a given. For those who cannot understand this – those who simply will not or cannot recognize just how far we have fallen, I can only offer up Matthew 7:21-23…
“21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”
“…I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” As a Christian, that should terrify you. As an American “Christian”, ambivalence is to be expected but you should know that if you ever, truly want to get rid of those quotation marks, “”, the current marks of the Beast, put your faith in Christ and not man – certainly not Donald Trump.
The American “Christians” lost me for good at Charlottesville. I saw their true face then. Christians know that we are only saved by the Grace of God. It is that grace that I hold onto, not the flawed and twisted doctrines of man or of American “Christians”.
If you ever where what you have claimed to be, repent – and return to the Grace. The nation needs love and healing right now. We are called to be the light. Repent and be that light that our world so desperately needs.
Shine. Let people see love, let them see the Gospel, through your life. Make sure the message that you are sending as a Christian is one of love. Do not diminish the Gospel. It is not about man’s kingdom, but God’s.
It is a new day.
God is on the thrown and he has seen fit to have Joe Biden be our President.
Let us have the courage of our convictions. It is time to heal, to unify. It is time to represent Christ in this world by our example.
Anything less is window washing.
It is time to shine.
It is, after all, a new day.
