It's time to elect a new president. We have been given a couple options, both parties are working hard to distance themselves from the current administration and they are both proponents of Change. Obama has been talking about how his administration would change the current way of doing business, he wants to work for the middle class. McCain is the original maverick and wants to change how the party system works, wanting to cross party lines. We have to go to the polls in less than a month and vote for one of these men who claim their way is the way to bring change today.
When we truly look down to what the parties are planning to change, it merely comes down to a few tax laws, how we are going to deal with the war in Iraq, a few policies concerning how we deal with "pork barrel ear marked bills", etc. I don't want to down play these politicians and I encourage you to go out and vote November 4th, but the change we need today is not going to come from either of these politicians. I believe the change we need is going to come through you, the people. It isn't a change of policy or a change of politics or a change in the way you vote.
I believe the only person who ever lived on this earth that can bring change is Jesus Christ. He came and gave a way to change our heart, a way to change a person from the inside out. Have you ever tried to change someone? It isn't something we can do, no matter how hard we sometimes would like to try. Often we try to control people when we try to change them, the difference in what Jesus did is he decided instead to love us, free us and serve us sacrificially (even with his own life). He doesn't want to make us all into mini clones of each other, instead he calls us to stop living the ways of this world. He wants us to live as he lived, and love as he loved, which includes loving our enemies.
He came to bring a new Kingdom a new administration into the world, a kingdom which is unlike any kingdom or nation that has ever been on this earth. The nations on the earth today and in the past tend to try and control the people through fear and propaganda. Even in the great nation of America we are ruled by fear, for example if we don't pay our taxes we will be audited by the IRS and what is scarier than that! As well as through propaganda which is easily spread throughout the world today through television, internet, books, etc. Essentially the nations of this world like to hold power over the people, which isn't necessarily a bad thing when it comes to running a country (I especially like the laws that ban people from killing me). The power of the Kingdom Jesus talked about came from a different source. The source of this new nation comes from loving people and serving them, encouraging people and raising them up. When the main power of the worldly government comes from controlling people the power of the nation Jesus talked about comes from people lowering themselves and lifting others up.
In this country 80% of the people claim to be Christians, though it seems like most of us are still living the ways of the world. Most of the people that claim to live as people of Christ have lost the art of following Christ (i.e. living the way he lived). We are trying to climb to the top of our world and make as much money as we can and have as much control as we can, but we don't realize that this wasn't the way Jesus Lived. The way this nation is going to change is not through a government change, not through a new policy or a new president it is through you. Change will occur through you living out this radically different kingdom Jesus called us to live. In the words of Martin Luther King Jr. maybe this country needs extremists of love. Lift up your mantle and follow Christ, he has come to set you free and bring you salvation.
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