I confess. Politics frighten me. I easily get overwhelmed by the issues and the ethical complexities. Every election season sends me to one of two places — 1 – cynicism, certainly a safe place to land in this country of the disillusioned, or 2 – worship — praising God again that He is the Wise King who ruled in the strangest way possible, by doing the penultimate foolish political act — “this would be political death” his advisors might say…Our Ruler as Christians established shalom and restored broken things.
Today I write because politics is becoming personal. Our eldest son is declaring intent to run for president of the student body at his university. Part of me is screaming, “Don’t do it!” (Back to my ‘what-if’ tendencies…’what-if’ someone launches a smear campaign?’ ‘what-if someone hurts his feelings?’ Yes, you can see that I am not very far along in my political or maternal maturity:).
Mostly, though, I say, keep on moving, one step at a time, into this story God has so clearly led you into. He has looked to God to help him decide if he should run. He has worked as a restorer of broken things on campus, bringing, among other things, refillable water stations to eliminate the vast waste of plastic bottles. (He’s done other things, but this is not a campaign blog, just a mom being proud and humbled and “treasuring up things in her heart” and watching to see how God moves in this world and her son’s life.)
Mostly, I say to him, to all of my children, to my husband, myself, and you: let us all be good rulers of this earth, for it is our central calling from Genesis 1. Let us exercise dominion by the grace of God alone. Let us live each moment of every day as instruments of peace and restoration. Let us dream of the day when Christ will return, and government will truly mean establishing right relationships and full beauty. For, as I wrote a while back, “the zeal of the Lord of Hosts will accomplish this!”
“For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
will accomplish this.” Isaiah 9:6-7
