Post Election, 2012

“The grass withers, and the flower falls away: But the word of the Lord endures forever.” –I Pet. 1:24-25

It is over. It is over at last. What was intimated by many to be the election of the century has now come and gone. Yard signs are disappearing one by one. Bumper stickers are being covered up with a new layer promoting innocuous causes like AYSO or Recycle Now. Prophetic voices are now calming themselves; the fever subsiding. Winners are exulting in visions of power and prestige. Losers are crestfallen, quietly looking for exits out of the public eye. And the media are counting their millions in advertising windfalls.

Reflective voices are now trying to make sense of it all. Why did we do what we did? For what reason and purpose were we drawn to this candidate or another? And what will be the effect of new or continued office holders upon life as we know it? Then there are those quirky ballot initiatives that threaten to usher in a brave new world in some of our various states. No one can possibly foresee the effects of these.

For those who rejoice at our national commitment to continue down the same path for another four years, it is definitely cause for some nervous humility even in the throes of victory. We are going down some paths we have not travelled before with our national dashboard flashing some serious warning lights. To claim that all is well and not to worry would be nothing but a brazen display of naiveté and hubris. To trifle with well worn traditions in our lust for continued self satisfaction is always an exercise in tickling the tail of the dragon.

For those who are cast down in the despair of defeat, it is time to reaffirm that kingdoms may wax and wane, but the Word of the Lord abides forever. Whatever notions of truth we may hold, if they are truly true, they will remain so regardless of what politicians and courts may decide. And eventually, all will have to admit to their universality whether they like it or not. Those who see truth clearly can simply take comfort in that they see it before most. Truth has this habit of making itself known, if not by declaration, it will do so through hard and costly error by those who fight against it. Kicking against the goads is never a good idea.

Nations rise and fall as they walk either in truth or error. And we have little choice as to when we are born into a particular people group whether it is at a time of ascendency and fruitfulness or a time of decline and loss. Solomon rode the wave of blessing in Israel’s glory days. Jeremiah, alas, experienced pain and suffering right along with the nation to whom he was sent; a nation who had deserted their God. Regardless of the cultural and political circumstances in which we find ourselves, our job remains the same: to be God’s people shining His light wherever we are. And even in the darkest hour of impending judgment about to be visited upon Israel, God gave Jeremiah a sign for hope. He was to buy a field in Anathoth in spite of the fact that he was prophesying that Judah would be forcibly removed from the land by the king of Babylon. It was a stark and public act of hope in the future in the midst of the looming winds of war which would soon overtake them all. He signed and sealed the deed, called in witnesses, and weighed out the silver on the scales.1 It was an act of total defiance to the disaster that was about to sweep over them.

We are called to be people of hope. We continue to plant and sow, cultivate and grow, all in expectation of a harvest. Regardless of the winds of fortune about us, we still move forward in faith that in so doing we are doing God’s work. Martin Luther once wrote, “Even if I knew that the world would end tomorrow, I would still plant an apple tree today.” Own a piece of the future and buy yourself a field in Anathoth today.

Mercy and Truth, Mr. Moe 1Jer. 32:10