As part of my job I am required to follow politics. I am not
claiming that I am an expert, I just have to pay attention. Since I
have to pay attention, sometimes people will ask
what my current position is on the election or specific candidates.
Most often, these people already know where I fall on the
liberal/conservative scale and on certain social issues. This year,
however, I am struggling to find my place within the political spectrum
because I don't agree with either candidates position on a handful of
matters so a lot of my conversations with people have gone deeper than
just asking who my candidate is.
For background and
the sake of being thorough, at the end of the day, I believe life is
conceived at conception. Why? Because I went through in vitro
fertlization and you will not be able to convince me that my frozen
embryos are anything less than babies. Don't try. This dictates my
personal position on when life begins. If you've terminated a
pregnancy, I don't judge you or condemn you. That was your choice.
There are circumstances that are out of your control and a number of
other reasons why people have experienced that. I don't write my
position to shame anyone, I write it for transparency. If you disagree
with me, I still respect you and believe you are entitled to your
position.
I also believe that the Bible clearly states that
marriage is supposed to be shared between a man and a woman, however, I
am not going to argue or picket or judge when my gay friends or family
members choose to marry someone they love. I am no more or less of a
Christian or more or less of a sinner because of my position on
marriage. I just believe in what the Bible says. The good news is, God
is not going to ask for my input on anyone else's judgment day so I
love and I will support love. Again, if you disagree with me, I still
respect you and believe you are entitled to do so.
It
is with great reserve that I even write those things out and share them
with the world because I know that it is inviting in judgment and
criticism from either side of the spectrum. I also realize that it
could be hurtful to people very important and close to me to read that.
My intention is not to hurt, judge or condemn. It is with my whole
heart that I say I love any and all of my family members, regardless of
their race, religion, sexuality, or history and I will continue to
support, encourage and be there for any and all of them just as I hope I
already am.
I humbly admit that I had to come far to get
to this place of love and acceptance. I struggled intensely and had to
have a severe personal reset when it came to my "position" on these
issues. I have stories of judgment, resentment, and anger in my past
when it comes to both of these very sensitive and personal life choices
that I am not proud of and where I needed to ask for other's
forgiveness.
That being said, you could say that the past
eight years for me should be a disappointment or frustrating due to the
country's shift in legal social policies but they have not.
Just
like I personally needed to fall hard and have my eyes opened to my
hard heart and judgmental position on these issues, I feel that the
church needed/needs the same reset. We still have far to go but if you
look at what the past eight years have called the church to do it has
been, in my opinion, a welcome awakening. Since the country has decided
to stray further from the Biblical standards on life and marriage, the
church has had to dig in and re-examine the Biblical standards on LOVE.
I feel that more churches and leaders have called out and challenged
Christians in what it means to love like Jesus loved. To live like
Jesus lived. He surrounded himself with those that were not like him.
He was drawn to and drew in the downtrodden, the sinful and the
different.
The church is at a point of re-awakening
that is so very necessary and while we may not agree or the Bible
doesn't support the positions that our country has taken, God knew these
things were going to happen. He is not surprised by this. In fact, I
think that he is using this as an opportunity to command us to live out
the commandment to love thy neighbor. He is calling us to do it
better. We are all created in His image. We are all sinners and fall
short of the glory of God. It's time that we stop throwing stones. It
is time that we drop our stones and walk away from condemnation and
judgment. Just like it took a pivotal moment for Jesus to draw the line
in the sand, I feel that our country has drawn that line and we now
have to choose whether or not we reach across to welcome others in or
stomp our feet, throw a temper tantrum and dig into our unloving old
ways.
So where do I stand on this election and the issues? Here is where I stand. I stand on the authority of Romans 13:1
"Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there
is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been
instituted by God." (emphasis added)
I hold confidence in
the plan that God has for this country. He will not be surprised by who
wins the election in November and He has already laid out those steps.
He knew what would happen these past eight years and I have seen it as
an amazing opportunity for the Church to step up and love better.
For those in the church who may have been discouraged by the past eight
years, please evaluate how much it has challenged us. Look at what it
called us to do. In my opinion, I think that when the hard lines were
drawn, we actually became better for it.
Things may not go
the way you want them to in November, but keep in mind, God knows what
we are about to walk through and hopefully, again, the church will come
out better for it.
