President-Elect Obama: A Way to Celebrate, A Way to Serve

I'm writing this mostly for the 46.39% whose candidate did not win the White House. Your disappointment may be deep, because your concern was great. Let us face our disappointments as believers with a far greater hope. Elections are important but they are not ultimate. Our ultimate hope is in Jesus, who has brought us one day closer to His perfect Kingdom. Seize that thought and fix your gaze there.

Some of us have made a critical mistake this election season. We have not just worked for a cause. We've worshipped a candidate. We placed hopes and dreams in a man and a human message. Both sides are guilty of this. And for the people of God, this is cause for repentance. These are just men and women. They are not saviors.

However, I urge you to genuinely embrace the beauty of this historical moment. A black man has been elected to the White House. Let's celebrate this fact as evidence of our nation's progress. John McCain so graciously reminded us that Teddy Roosevelt was once scorned for simply inviting a black man, Booker T. Washington, to be his guest at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Now a black family has that as their address. They are not token guests, they are rightful residents. A nation that once sold people as merchandise, now can enjoy (in a new and historic way) the long awaited product of freedom. Seeing Jesse Jackson with tears in his eyes, regardless of your views of the man or his politics, was moving. It was moving but unlike the tears of John Lewis, U.S Congressman and civil rights activist, earlier this year. In an interview with CNN, recorded for a special documentary on the 40 year anniversary of Dr. King's assassination, Lewis wept openly. For Lewis the tears represented wounds still raw. For Jackson, it seemed the tears represented something else. Tears of joy.

We should share the joy of moral and spiritual progress in civil rights. I heard many voices writing an anticipatory narrative for Obama's defeat. "It will be the Bradley effect!" "The Bubba vote will cost Obama down South!" "The hidden bigotry of America is still too powerful!" Really? Iowa, mostly white, launched Senator Obama's presidential bid. Returns show that it was not so much African-American turn out, but young white voters that gave Mr. Obama the victory. Progress. Raising money traditionally hamstrung black candidates. Senator Obama shattered records, raising money from every corner of the country. At $700 million raised he was on pace to be the billion dollar man. Progress. A man with a black father and a white mother has received more votes than any other person who has ever run for the presidency. Progress. Something to celebrate.

And celebrate it because it looks like the Gospel. I believe this is further fuel to our fire for racial reconciliation. This is not the end, nor is it the beginning, it is a step that God is compelling us to take. We must seize on this moment. We must seize it for the right reasons. Because racial reconciliation is the Gospel tangibly presented. Paul shares the Gospel to the Ephesians in terms of race (Ephesians 2). Biblical racial hostility existed between Jews and Gentiles. The Gospel was a grafting in of previously disenfranchised people, into one new family. He saves us by a Kinsmen Redeemer, Jesus our brother. If God can overcome the religious, ethnic and cultural divide between Jew and Gentile, he certainly can bridge the divide between white and black. Let's pursue reconciliation in our cities so that in that missional act, people might see the Gospel in our lives together.

So, that is something to celebrate. But there is also a way to serve. And here it is: watch and pray. Reagan used to say "trust but verify." I say "watch and pray." The popularity of any man can become overreaching power. Don't be afraid. Watch and pray. Many have made campaign calls, displayed yard signs and bumper stickers, gone to rallies, stuffed envelopes, watched polls, and given money. Watch. Stay informed. Stay tuned in. Continue to learn the issues. Continue to work for what you believe in. Don't obsess. Don't love politics too much. Remember we are in the world, but not of it. But also, don't slouch into non-service just because November 4 has passed. Watch and pray. On the campaign, Senator Obama wooed and won many "evangelicals." They should watch and pray. They should urge him, while honoring him with kindness, to lead in such a way that keeps their trust.

I will be watching and praying with particularly close attention to the issue of abortion. My hope and prayer is that President Obama will dramatically change his position towards the unborn. I continue to believe that institutionalized infanticide is the leading human rights issue of our day. It is one thing to address human rights issues that have become mainstream: human trafficking, clean water wells in developing countries, world AIDS awareness, genocide in countries in conflict, just to name a few. These are important and deserve attention. But we must also address human rights when we must swim up stream, when it is not in vogue. The human rights of the unborn have been tragically dismissed by public relations firms. With tricks of slogan, semantics, and existential thought we have redefined life in our image. But life is made in the image of God. So, join me in watching and praying, serving and working for this supreme issue in American culture.

There you have it. A way to celebrate: enjoy the taste of progress and continue to pursue it for the expansion of the Gospel. And a way to serve: by watching and praying, for our new President, and working for the least of these. And never forget, God is on the throne. God is forever, U.S. Presidents are temporary. This will allow you the proper perspective between work and worship, important and ultimate.