I Voted

I went out and did my civic duty today and voted. It was great to see so many people there. Four years ago you walked in and voted immediately. This year there was a 25 minute wait. As I stood in line I was stirred at the great privilege it is to be an American and have the opportunity to vote.

This Sunday we finish a series at church entitled "The Cross and the Culture War." Our goal was to point our church to the priority of rising above partisan politics and recognizing that the real culture war isn't Republican vs. Democrat but the Kingdom of God vs. godless humanity and our goal isn't to win an election but to spread the gospel.

Here's a terrific quote from my friend Randy Alcorn from his website www.epm.org.

"I get tired of being told I have to choose between conservatism's emphasis on truth and liberalism's emphasis on compassion. Why can't we oppose injustice to minorities and to the unborn? Why can't we embrace biblical stewardship of creation and the primacy of human beings over the rest of creation? Why can't we oppose the greedy destruction of the environment by some businesses and the anti-industry excesses of New Age environmentalism?
Why can't we affirm the biblical right to the ownership of property (along with the command "thou shalt not steal") and emphasize God's call to his people to voluntarily and sacrificially share their wealth with the truly needy?
Why can't we uphold the truth of God's condemnation of sexual immorality, including homosexual practices, and reach out in love and compassion to those imprisoned in this degrading lifestyle, as well as those dying from AIDS?
The answer is, we cannot do all these things if we are first and foremost either liberals or conservatives. We can do all these things only if we are first and foremost followers of Christ. We can do them if and only if we are governed not by temporal political affiliations, but by eternal allegiance to Almighty God."

And here's a great quote from author and pastor Erwin Lutzer in his book "Why the Cross Can Do what Politics Can't." He writes:

"The cross must always stand alone, unopposed by competing loyalties. Its message must never be sacrificed on the altar of our own political or social agenda, or affected by which political party is in office. We have a message that must be heard above the din of political posturing and rancor. We have an agenda that is even more important than saving America: it is holding the cross high so that God might be pleased to save Americans."

Amen!