One Nation, Under God - Part 1

America is “one nation, under God,” but I’ve found neither of those statements to be quite accurate lately. The “under God” part is clear to see, as America has become more and more secularized in the last few generations. But the first phrase, “one nation,” is the one that recently I have been thinking a lot about.At every election, I have seen division in the nation. But this election on November 3 is being heralded right now as “the most important election in the history of American politics.” Well, I have not been around since George Washington was president, so I certainly cannot say for certain if this is the most important, least important, or (as I suspect) somewhere in between.Every election, I have seen division in the Church as well.We have many Christian Republicans that are convinced that to not vote Republican is to vote pro-abortion, pro-homosexuality, and pro-anarchy, with a chaser of communism and socialism. I have heard that Donald Trump is God’s president. I had a friend who is a die-hard Republican tell me they do not know how someone can vote Democratic and call themselves Christians.We have many Christian Democrats that are convinced that to not vote Democrat means that you are a racist, that you do not believe in women’s rights, that you believe in oppressing the poor, and also that you have no moral compass whatsoever. I had a friend who is African American tell me that to vote for Donald Trump is to usher in the age not of Aquarius but of Anti-Christ.It’s funny, but many American Christians look at our right to vote as tantamount to our salvation, and our relationship to Jesus Christ. To not vote would be Biblically offensive to a number of my friends. As someone married to a Canadian, be reassured you can be Christian and not vote in the American Presidential elections.Friends, you know that I do not like to talk politics, and I have to admit that these ideas are a little bit too high and lofty for me. But there is a major battle going on in the Church and that is something that is right up my alley.I want to talk about division and unity. There is the old adage that, “A house divided against itself will not stand.” That quote from Abraham Lincoln is about as American as apple pie… but Lincoln was quoting the Bible, specifically Matthew 12:25. The house that is divided right now is the house of God, the Church.In Psalms, we read, “How good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1). But it is more than pleasant. Jesus prayed, “Father, make them one, even as we are one. May they also be in us so that the world will believe that the Father sent the Son” (John 17:21). When the Church is divided, when we are not walking as one in unity, those that are Pre-Christians look at us and they do not even think the Father sent the Son. The Father and the Son cannot be divided against themselves, after all.Instead of the Democratic Christians and the Republican Christians being on the offensive against each other, the Church should strive to be like the chord of three that is not easily broken, with the Lord tying us together.This series of blogs on the upcoming elections will be a series of three. Next time we will take a closer look at the scripture Daniel 2:44, and for our third blog we will find out how God will pick our leader during the elections, and it will not be (just) by how we vote, folks!Whether you are Democratic or Republican, you might be feeling a lot of fear right now about the outcome of the election. I will leave you with this scripture: “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32).It is great to see you, friend.