Hail to the Chief
Posted by: Pastor Dave Lee | Wednesday November 5, 2008
Last night was a historic night for the United States regardless of your politics. I hope that you can see that. Regardless of how you feel personally about Barack Obama or his politics, the fact that this nation put an African-American in the White House only 53 years after Rosa Parks' heroic act of defiance is an amazing thing.
Mr. Obama was elected in part on the promise that he would unite us as a nation and combat the bipartisan polarization that has paralyzed America. Senator McCain made similar promises. Now one of the candidates has prevailed and I trust that he will do what he can to follow through. Whether he succeeds depends quite a bit on us as citizens.
Last night, listening to post-election coverage here in San Diego where I've been attending some meetings, I was dismayed to hear a McCain supporter's response to the question, "Now that Mr. Obama has won the election wil you stand behind him as your new president." That McCain supporter replied flaty, "No. I'll oppose him just the same as the Democrats did to Bush. Two can play at that game." Maybe that man's sentiments are not reflective of most McCain supporters, but it is an attitude that is wrong.
I would like to call on all the folks at Harvest to join in supporting our new president. If you read this as a pro-Obama statement you would be mistaken. God's word clearly tells us in Romans 13:1, "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God." Let's take that seriously.
Let's give the new president a chance to govern. Let's try for a moment to stop acting like Democrats and Republicans and start acting like Americans. For those of us who follow Christ that is not as difficult as it may sound because Jesus has given us a legitimate alternative identity apart from our political parties: that of disciples.
God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America (so presidential...).
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