I received a message from a friend a week ago, expressing the concern for Christians during this election season. What was she worried about? “Will we recover? Will relationships heal?”
It was a rainy day, and to be honest, the week had been hard. But in that moment, all that the Lord had been teaching me through His Word culminated; my friend’s message had given me the missing piece of the puzzle the Lord was laying out for me.
The week prior, I had been reading in 2 Samuel. I came to the passage about David and Bathsheba, a part of scripture that is talked and taught about frequently. As I’ve come to do, I prayed that the Lord would give me fresh eyes to see beyond what I already knew so well; I asked that He would teach me something more about His character through this familiar passage.
After David commits his sin with Bathsheba and has her husband killed, the LORD sends the prophet, Nathan, to rebuke him. He tells David of his sin and the consequences of what he has done. David is deeply convicted and repents. Nathan tells him in 2 Samuel 12:13 that his sins are forgiven. And then he says this verse 14,
“However, because by this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born to you shall surely die.”
Sometimes it seems as if the Holy Spirit has caused a verse to be in a larger font or perhaps, highlighted. Such was the case here. I was instantly grieved and convicted. If David, the man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22); the shepherd boy who was anointed to be king of God’s people (1 Samuel 16:13); the one who defeated the giant with a slingshot (1 Samuel 17:50); the one from whom the Messiah came (Luke 1:32); the writer of around 70 psalms, including Psalm 23- if his sin could cause the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, how much more could mine?
I thought about this election season and contemplated the hostility and division of our nation, among both believers and unbelievers. And I was broken.
For His Name
Throughout God’s Word we see that while He loves His people, He is most concerned for His Name. Numerous times throughout the pages, we read phrases like, “for My Name’s sake”, “for the sake of My Name”, etc.
In fact, Ezekiel writes in chapter 36:20-23,
“When they came to the nations where they went, they profaned My holy name, because it was said of them, ‘These are the people of the Lord; yet they have come out of His land.’ But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations where they went. “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went. I will vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord,” declares the Lord God, “when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight.”
We see in these verses God refers to His Name four times. He then goes on to make the promise of giving His people a new heart and placing His Spirit in them (v 26-27), but He ends by saying in verse 32a, “I am not doing this for your sake,” declares the Lord God, “let it be known to you…”
Why was He doing all of this? For His Name!
“Among the Gentiles”
Peter tells us in 1 Peter 2:9,
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
Not only does Peter tells us WHO we are, but WHOSE we are, and WHAT we are to do: proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light!
He then goes on to say in verses 11 and 12,
“Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.”
Do you see what Peter is saying here? He’s telling us to abstain from our fleshly lusts, which include slander, division, anger, and arrogance (2 Corinthians 12:20; Galatians 5:19-21); these things which do not reflect our Lord and Savior, but rather brings reproach on His name. We are not keeping our behavior excellent when we are name-calling and saying unkind things about others.
We are called in Matthew 5:16 to
“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
This means that when others SEE how we act and HEAR what we say, they know WHOSE we are, and God gets the glory!
I am not saying you shouldn’t engage in conversation on opposing issues. As believers, we are called to stand up and to speak up about the Truth we are taught in God’s Word. It’s how we carry ourselves, understanding that unbelievers can’t see truth because their eyes are blinded (2 Corinthians 4:4). We have this false idea that if we yell and scream that they will somehow understand; they will not. We are called to share truth in love, but we are not held accountable for their response.
The apostle Paul spent his life living among the Gentiles, sharing truth, and writing to the church telling us how to do the same, because he understood the importance of living before them so that His father in heaven would be glorified.
As burdened as I was when I thought about how unbelievers viewed Christ because of our actions towards them, I was equally or even more so burdened with how they viewed Christians on opposing ends of the political spectrum and how we treat one another.
Love One Another
This brings me back to the friend I wrote about earlier. She and I fall on opposite sides politically. Her statement immediately caused me to weep because I knew what I had said about “those Christians” who could even remotely think differently than I because I’m on the side that loves Jesus, right? But am I loving Jesus and bringing glory to His Name when I make bold and arrogant statements about “those Christians”. I think not.
That moment I was taken back to David and Nathan in 2 Samuel 12:14. While I had steeped in that verse for a week already, the moment my friend said those words to me, it came full circle. I didn’t want to cause unbelievers to blaspheme my God due to my sins!
Furthermore, I wanted them to see that while one might be for one side, and the other for the other side, because we both love Jesus, we can love one another (1 John 4:20).
That brings glory to God’s name. That’s what He means in Matthew 5:16. Does my light reflect His name? Because that’s He’s most interested in. His number one priority is that His name is honored before the Gentiles, and that’s made clear in how we treat fellow believers.
Jesus tells us in John 13:35,
“By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
We are HIS disciples; Christian, we bear His Name, first and foremost. All other titles we give ourselves are very secondary to this one!
One thing is for sure, the Lord will have His way during this election season, no matter the result. He is in total control. Now, will we choose to surrender and be a part of what He’s doing, or will we choose to sin and cause the enemies of God to blaspheme His Name?
We have an amazing opportunity to reflect Him during these dark days, and I pray we spend this time proclaiming Him and His excellencies to a lost and dying world!
this Life called HIS 