"Jesus Is On His Throne"
Yes, but...
“No matter what happens in the election, Jesus is on His throne!”
Every election year those posts go around social media for months. And, to be fair, there’s no disputing that it’s a factual statement. It’s also a needed one.
Overly panicked responses to election results reveal that our faith may be a little bit too grounded in the things of this world.
However…
1. That doesn’t change your duty here and now.
I grow tired of Christians using the phrase to say that these things don’t really matter and that it’s worldly-minded to care. Elections have real-life consequences. We have to live with what happens, and we’re building what the next generation will have to work with – or through.
And, so far, it’s not good.
Food, gas, housing, and everything else keep getting harder to afford. Crime is becoming a serious issue in some of our greatest cities. The kind of people in office determined whether you were allowed out of your house for 6+ months in 2020, whether you were allowed to go to church or sing while there, or what medical treatments you had to accept to keep your job in 2021. Local elections might decide whether drag queens are allowed to read grooming material to your kids and their friends. California is in the midst of stripping all parental rights when it comes to the trans-ing of children.
This stuff matters.
Bad governance has been the single biggest cause of suffering and death over the course of living memory.
It’s not wrong to desire good governance. Nor is it wrong to desire a better, freer, safer lives for ourselves and our children. Isn’t that another way of “loving our neighbors?” If you have an opportunity, however small, to influence the culture in a way that will bless your children and the people around you and you refuse to do it, what does that say about you?
Beyond all of that, God is not happy with wicked governments (Proverbs 29), and we don’t have to be either.
2. Jesus’ ultimate rule doesn’t mean He’s indifferent to the results of our elections.
The Bible pretty clearly outlines what He expects of governments and peoples. It also shows we should desire that they would choose those things.
“Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:1-4).
There are those in the church who stand up in times like these to tell us we need to “just evangelize.” But in these verses Paul clearly links our evangelism with the actions of the government. We should be actively praying that they would make it easier for us to evangelize. That doesn’t mean we stop evangelizing if they don’t treat us that way, but it’s good and right to desire they do.
When presented with less than ideal options on the ballot, these verses should heavily influence your decision making. Who is going to give you the breathing room to lead the life God wants you to lead and operate as a Christian?
Again, these things matter.
3. “Jesus is on His throne” is not a message of comfort to people who are storing up His wrath for themselves.
Before anything else, it should be a wake-up call to examine ourselves and make sure we have been faithful in what has been given to us. And a nation that once knew Christ and is rejecting Him is proof the church has not done her job.
Whoever is elected, it is by God’s will. If things get worse, it is because God is bringing long-needed discipline on our nation. If things get better or hold steady, He is giving us time to repent, or giving the righteous time to get our houses in order since we know He does not indefinitely tolerate nations who have transgressed to the degree America has. We have to live by these realities.
As I’ve argued, our nation is under discipline because the church has become compromised by friendliness with the world (James 4:1). Doing the “This is fine” meme shows we have no idea how much Jesus controls the world today.
He is not happy with our national decline. He doesn’t want us to bide our time until heaven. He wants us to get to work purifying the church which downstream leads to a purified society.
Yes, Jesus can and will make good come of whatever man gives Him, whether good or bad. He does indeed win in the end. But for our sakes, good is still better than bad. Winning in the meantime is alright, too. And it’s not wrong to say so.
Rather than a trite resignation of electoral insignificance, let’s make “Jesus is on His throne” a reminder that we have work to do.
Notes
I had the privilege of joining Chris Arnzen on Iron Sharpens Iron Radio to discuss my article What the 'Plus' in LGBTQ+ Stands For. To listen online or for podcast links, go here.
I’m continuing to slowly give away my book Sunday School Catch-Up free over at Bible 101.
Think Deeper Podcast took on therapy culture this week.
When I think of our duties and responsibilities, as they relate to government, I think about the Lord's Prayer, "Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." If we pray for this, shouldn't we be actively devoting our lives to this, to be in service to do His will on earth? To further, to expand, to bring closer to perfection this kingdom, on earth, as it is in heaven. Seems to me we have a responsibility to keep working. After all, we have a long way to go.
I agree with just about everything you said here. But, what do you mean by purify the church? Isn't that the Holy Spirit's role? Believers will be transformed by the renewing of their mind, presumably by reading Scripture, praying, and gathering with other believers to worship and pray.
How will a mature Church impact culture unless there are enough of us? Rallying the Church is one thing, but we dare not force unbelievers to go along with a Biblical Principles Party. Seventeenth-century Massachusetts and Calvin's Geneva, for example, demonstrate why that's a bad idea.