Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.” (Luke 17:20-21, NIV)
Nervous? Excited? Feeling like a child just hours away from Santa’s yearly visit? Eves of all kinds can make us feel this way. On the eve of a major election, you may be feeling a rush of emotions similar to those you have felt before.
Often you’ll hear golf’s broadcasters speculate about how well a player, especially a young one who has “never been in this position,” will sleep on the lead. In truth, almost no tour player has never been in this position. That’s how they got here—by dominating as an amateur, capturing leads and converting them into victories. But they have never been in this position at this level, whether seeking their first tour win or their first major championship trophy. This time, it’s bigger.
In recent weeks, you have likely read articles suggesting the same about tomorrow’s election in the United States: It’s bigger. More important. Critical to the life of the nation “as we know it.”
It’s not a to-the-winner-go-the-spoils proposition. Rather, the winner gives us all we need.
I really can’t tell you whether the meaning projected on this particular election is as some have suggested. But I can tell you that when it comes to what’s happening around us, it’s easy to slip into hyperbole. When we’ve grown culturally accustomed to chasing the next big thing, we need to declare that the next thing is BIGGER STILL in order to keep ourselves interested.
Well, here’s some truly big news: The biggest thing of all has already happened. The kingdom of God is here.
Is that a surprise to you? I ask in light of our Scripture today, where Jesus said the kingdom is not observable in the way that other things are. While earthly politics are built around authoritarian structures that excite people to say, “We’ve got the power!” when their desired side is in office, the kingdom of God doesn’t come to us in this way. It’s not a to-the-winner-go-the-spoils proposition. Rather, the winner gives us all we need. And that winner is the Lord.
Jesus spoke repeatedly of the kingdom of God. He described it mostly in parables, which means we don’t have every answer about it, but pastor Jeremy Treat, in his book Seek First, defines it several times over as “God’s reign through God’s people in God’s place.”
Is America God’s place? No more than any other place where God reigns through his people. This means that no matter where we live or who gets elected, the foundation and activity of our faith do not change. So not only should we not be nervous about tomorrow, we should be very excited that God’s kingdom purposes will keep going and growing and that we get to be a part of his work, no matter what day of the year it is.
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Jeff Hopper
November 2, 2020
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The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
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