An important election season announcement: If Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Gary Johnson, Jill Stein or anyone else is elected president of the United States, Jesus Christ will still be Lord of the universe.
My presidential election memories go back to my sixth-grade year in 1980, with Jimmy Carter squaring off against Ronald Reagan.
That year, and in every election since, I remember hearing people screaming that the coming vote was the most critical in our nation’s history.
Every time around, I’ve heard people calamitizing that if (insert candidate’s name here) gets elected, we won’t even have a country four years from now.
Perhaps you have been sucked into all of the election hype this year, and you are now convinced that the future of the world, and the future of God’s kingdom, hinges on the result of November’s vote.
If you are persuaded that we are all doomed if your candidate does not win, then I have to ask you a question: Is your view of God really that small?
If you could look back in time to the first century, do you think you would see Jesus wringing his hands over who was going to be the next Caesar?
Can you picture Paul or the other fearless early believers getting worked up over who would be in charge next in Rome?
No, they knew that even if it was a batty Christian killer like Nero or Domitian, the Kingdom of God would not be threatened.
Do you really think God is pacing around heaven right now, saying, “Oh me, if this election doesn’t work out, what am I going to do?”
No, what God says is, “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11).
“Jesus Christ is Lord” was originally a political statement.
People in the Roman Empire were required to acknowledge the authority of the earthly king by declaring, “Caesar is Lord.”
But Christians came along and said, “Nope, he’s not. We can’t say that because Jesus Christ is Lord. He’s the one in charge. I pledge allegiance to Jesus, and to him alone.”
Jesus is the one in whom we place our hope. He is Lord! And no matter how many states go red or blue in November, he will still be Lord. No matter who is in the oval office, Christ is on the throne!
The presidency looks like a big job. But the position of real authority is not up for election. Not this year. Not ever. Jesus is Lord.
If you have deep fear over this election, I would suggest that you have a theological problem. You are counting on the wrong thing.
The Republican Party will not fulfill your hopes. Neither will the Democrats.
Your savior is not named Hillary or Donald. His name is Jesus. That’s the name every tongue will confess. He’s the one before whom every knee will bow.
This election is a big deal. But it’s not the biggest deal in the world. It’s not even the 15th biggest deal in the world.
Our salvation does not come out of Washington D.C. We don’t follow the elephant or the donkey – we follow the Lamb.
Blake McKinney is the pastor of First Baptist Church of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, and the author of “Refresh: A Moment with God in the Middle of Your Day.” A version of this article originally appeared on his blog, Intersections, and is used with permission. He and his wife, Gayla, also write a marriage blog, Same Team. You can follow him on Twitter @JBlakeMcKinney.
