The Coming election and the role of a Christian 1

I recently had a close call on Sunday afternoon while I was on the phone with a friend Julian. Some democratic party supporter came to the door and after a few seconds of discussion I discovered that I needed to register since we moved to Pasadena. Monday was the deadline to register and so I immediately filled out the form so I could do my part in the current election. The question for me that has been on the table since this whole presidential campaign has been going on is "As a Christian what is my part in politics?"

Finally I am settled on an answer. It stems from the offices of Jesus as a king, priest, and prophet. These were also the major offices in the nation of Israel. These three different offices helped to guide the nation of Israel. Since they are Jesus' office I believe they are also fulfilled in us as we are a counterculture in the world. The church is to be prophetic in that it speaks to the powers that be and calls them to account to the whole word of God. I emphasize whole because there is a stream of the church that speaks out on certain things when it is in the interest of the rich but is virtually silent when it comes to the interests of the poor. In the prophetic literature it is made very clear that God is on the side of the poor and oppressed. I believe this is our role within the larger society to call our politicians to account whether they are republican or democrat, liberal or conservative. The other role that we have is to be priests. We are to intercede for our nation and especially it's leaders. We intercede knowing that they are weak and fragile men and are subject to make unwise decisions and succumb to temptation. So we bring them before God and ask for his forgiveness, guidance, and protection over them. Not because they are democrat or republican but because we are responsible for the nation's peace so the gospel can be proclaimed. The last role is that of the king. We align ourselves with Jesus role as king and extend his rule and reign into the ordinary sphere of life. To act for the kingdom is not just about healing or excorcism although those things are not bad in and of themselves. To act for the kingddom means to act responsibly by picking up a ballot and voting. We are not in control of the circumstance but we lean towards the choice that will be conducive to God's kingdom being lived out on earth. This means looking at the whole of the Biblical message with Jesus the King as our interpretive key and not political agendas-liberal or conservative.

The fact that we live in the United States our politics are pretty bipartisan and so it is hard to vote for someone who totally embodies the agenda of followers of Christ. It also is not helpful when followers of Christ are from different cultures and backgrounds which influence the issues that are most important to them but more on that later........