It’s not every day that you hear a kid say “I want to be a politician when I grow up!” As strange as it may sound, I was that kid. Throughout high school, and especially grade school, I remember running for leadership positions in my class. As just a little guy, I remember election day, wearing a patriotic tie with gel slicking my hair back.
Although at times I probably wanted to represent the class for all the wrong reasons, I still like to think that helping others was somewhere at the heart of those youthful days. Thankfully, I have grown out of that phase. Today, I cannot even fathom ever wanting to go into politics, however that same calling to serve others propelled me into the ministry.
Despite my initial interests, for over a year now, I have been avoiding the television like the plague. Qualities of humility, vulnerability, forgiveness, and patience are so distant from the personalities revealed in this election that it’s become unbearable. In order to not give into the notion that our nation feeds on negativity, I simply haven’t been able to watch the television. However, from time to time, like a car accident, I can’t help but take a peek at the presidential election, “surely this is not what I wanted to be when I grew up” is what I say to myself every time. I have been looking forward to the end of these campaign races, as though I were awaiting Christmas morning. Please don’t misunderstand me! I love this country and I proudly stand up for it, even when times are rough.
When the dust settles from this political season, I believe that God’s love will have an ideal opportunity to be seen in the world through us. History has taught us that the Church is filled with a variety of people that makeup a Body that cannot be shaken by political upheaval. Through all the turmoil in the first few centuries of Christianity, God’s love prevailed. History reveals that during the rocky times of the Protestant Reformation, again God’s love prevailed. Now, although it may feel as though hope is lost as the ballots are counted, yet again God’s love will indeed prevail.
The Good News of the Resurrection is larger than any geopolitical upheaval that our society can muster. The Good News is louder than anything that one person is able to shout. Slowly, we are repairing the relationships that the Church has hurt. Slowly, we are learning that our similarities far outweigh our differences. And soon, very soon, we will all be gathered around the same table where no one is excluded or unwelcome. God’s reign is being built when we come together as a diverse community and celebrate the story of the Gospel together.
Let’s allow God to rekindle that passion in our hearts to serve others. If we uncover the flame of the Holy Spirit within us, God will help us to find that place within ourselves that puts others first. Through God, we can love radically as Jesus taught us. If we feed the fire, God will never let us forget that when we put aside our disagreements and stand in unity, while proclaiming the Gospel, it is God’s love that will be spread all the more.
Looking toward Life,
Lucas McSurley