As believers, we all have the mind of Christ, we are all partakers of the one Spirit, and we are members of one body. So why is there so much confusion, disagreement and dissension among Christians? I was reminded that this isn’t a new phenomenon; faith and politics have intertwined throughout history, shaping societies, revolutions, and global events. The relationship has always been complex, tenuous at best and volatile at its worst.
In his second inaugural address, given during the Civil War, President Lincoln expressed these famous and poignant words regarding the North and the South: “Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God’s assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men’s faces, but let us judge not, that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes.”
That last sentence is the comforting truth that inspires me today. It is corroborated by the words of Scripture, from the book of Isaiah: “The LORD Almighty has sworn, ‘Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will happen.’”
Even as Christians, our opinions, our notions of right and wrong and our politics are always influenced and distorted by human factors, such as culture, personal experience, propaganda, ignorance and fear. But above it all is an impartial God who is irrigating all world events to His intended end.
Whatever this week brings politically, it is neither a surprise nor a challenge for our God, and a day is coming when He will straighten us all out.
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