Election

So…it’s been a while. It turns out some of you really do read these blogs. Thank you to those of you who do (which is really a silly thing to write, because you’d only read this if you’re read the blogs. Ah well.). Here’s something I’ve been thinking about. Have you voted? Did you vote? And if you did, how did you come to make up your mind who you would vote for? Because here’s the thing for me at least: I’m sure there are lots of Christians who have diligently wrestled over who they would vote for. I wrestled. I’m sure you did too. But what happens when the person or party we voted for having wrestled about who that should be, turns out not to be the person or party who were elected? How do we understand what happened? Maybe it becomes complicated when we believe we voted for the person God prompted us to do through prayer, through weighing up Christian values, or whatever process we went through to discern the person God would have us vote for. To be honest, I just voted for change! Sorry if that disappoints you. The thing is, if Kings and leaders are appointed by God, the question becomes who got it wrong? Did I get it wrong because the person I voted for didn’t win? I’m guessing that Christians will have voted for people and parties across the spectrum. Which doesn’t really help. Maybe there’s way too many of us who simply don’t hear clearly from God. Or…did Gid get it wrong…by telling me to vote for someone who didn’t win? The Tudor kings believed they were appointed by God. Their motto was “Dieu et mom droit” which means “God and my right”, the point being God appointed the king or queen who ruled by divine authority. The King James version of the Bible is a very political translation because King James I wanted to preserve the divine right of Kings (obviously), so produced a translation that supported that interpretation. It’s been a long understanding. And maybe it’s still around today. So...what will we do with the outcome of the election? I’m honestly not sure how to bring God into it. Neither am I sure that God always gets His way. But what I think I do believe is that whoever is elected, God will be at work for good. Because God is always at work for good. In everything. So, whatever happens, I will trust that God is at work for good.