Jesus 2020: Our only hope
It was election night 2000, the first presidential election I really paid a lot of attention to. The stakes were high. Supreme Court justices, massive contrasting governing philosophies, differing economic visions, major stark policy differences on issues I cared a lot about as a Christian, and two very different directions the country could embark upon as we entered a new century.
I stayed up late following the results as they came in, and in the middle of the night, major news outlets announced that George W. Bush was the next President of the United States, and I finally went to bed. I will never forget how surreal it was waking up to find out that declaring the election over proved to be premature.
What followed was what felt like something out of a fictional political thriller from James Patterson or Vince Flynn, with the post-election drama ending only with a divided U.S. Supreme Court declaring the winner over a month after Election Day.
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Today, 20 years later, our fractured, highly polarized and divided country is about to go through what could be the most agonizing election process we have ever had in modern times. The stakes are high as before, many would say higher; the candidate choices couldn’t be more apart in vision, style and policy. I’ve never seen this level of intensity and animosity this great over a political election, between neighbors, friends, and family and even among fellow evangelical Christians, and it truly breaks my heart to watch.
And yet, I would put forward humbly that as I survey the tearing apart of the fabric of our society: the brokenness, the division, hatred, selfishness, unrest, fear, economic pain, erosion of morality and decency, it is clear that regardless of whether you choose to vote for President Donald Trump or vote for Joe Biden to be president, the name that will not be on the ballot that we really need is Jesus Christ.
No political figure or leader or party will be able to fully and sufficiently solve or fix the longstanding issues and problems that we face. Politics is a means to an end, but as a believer in the Bible and the coming reign of Jesus Christ, I believe it is not the end. Not even close.
For the record, I’m an evangelical Christian pastor who is not afraid to speak out on controversial issues where my faith collides with our societal, political and national discourse, and if I did not feel the pull of being a pastor, I might have majored in political science or law.
I am always fascinated with the world of politics; I believe in the importance of participating in our democracy. As John Adams once said, “There never has been a democracy that did not commit suicide,” and I for one do not want to see the “experiment” of our Founding Fathers fail in my lifetime or my children’s.
I see no conflict between being strong in faith and political activism. After all, one of my heroes is William Wilberforce who was a devout Christian and British politician who helped abolish the British slave trade. But we would do well to remember that any marriage throughout church history between the Gospel and political power has always become an unholy marriage.
As Rich Villodas said, “The Church is not found at the ‘center’ of a left/right political world. The Church is to be a species of its own kind, confounding both left and right, finding its identity from the “center” of God’s life.”
Christianity is not bound to our politics, it rises above them providing the reconciliation whereby those who vote for Trump and those who vote for Biden can come together as one under the banner of the Cross.
Long after the dust settles from the outcome to this election, Christ will still reign over all governing authorities, rulers, and nations. He will remain, after our elected leaders fail us and disappoint us, to be our only true hope to meet the deepest needs of the human heart, and indeed of our great nation.
Every four years it seems we are told that we are in the midst of the most important election of our lifetime, and that might indeed be true, we certainly are in the midst of the most dire and consequential time for our country and for the Church in America.
Yet, even as we pray for the outcome of this election, and as we vote who we believe will be best for our country and our values and faith, I believe this time, in 2020, that will not be enough. We need to do more than share political memes, more than vote for our candidate and party. We need to choose Jesus this election cycle.
We need to love our Creator with all our hearts in a relationship that transforms us from within rather than settle for being religious that only affects us outwardly. We need to love our neighbor as ourselves, yes even the neighbor who has a yard sign for the candidate you despise.
We need to do more to build bridges with people we disagree with and cultivate a culture of respectful dialogue. We need to be willing to help meet each other’s needs in any way we can help meet them, and not only be concerned for ourselves. We need to be an example of racial reconciliation and healing for the racial tensions that have long plagued our country from its founding.
We need to be willing to be bold about what we believe and why we believe it, and do everything we can as believers to speak out and speak up for the causes and issues that collide with our faith. We need to be as passionate, if not more passionate, about our Savior, than we are of our politics.
We need to be willing to pray for whoever wins this election, even if it turns out to be the person you voted against.
And finally, believers in Christ need to remember that as much as we love our country and care about its future, we must not lose our focus that ultimately we are part of a “heavenly country” that will long outlast the pyramids and the Washington monument.
I never use the pulpit to push a particular political figure or party, as I believe that distracts and detracts from the Gospel of Christ. While I do occasionally address pertinent issues, I never would try to tell my congregation who they should vote for.
But this year, this election cycle, the stakes are high. And, while I urge everyone who reads this to vote, and to vote their conscience, I will passionately, humbly, and urgently plea that whoever you vote for on that ballot, make sure that you ultimately choose Jesus. Choose Him for Election Day and every day after, because when it’s all said and done, that’s the vote that will count the most.
“My calling is to lead people to see Jesus Christ, trust his forgiveness of sins, treasure him above everything in this world, live in a way that shows his all-satisfying value and help them make it to heaven with love and holiness.” — John Piper
Pastor Stephen Mitchell is the senior pastor at Trinity Bible Church in Severna Park, Maryland. He is also the author of Taking A Stand In Our Dying Land and has spoken in various churches and retreats.
