America has elected a new President, Barack Obama. I’ve been reading words from many pastors and Christians the past couple of days that are reminding us that as a church we are called to pray for our leaders, including our President. In the words of Paul:
I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone– for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men– the testimony given in its proper time (1 Timothy 2:1-6).
In that spirit, we pray today that God would give our new President Elect the wisdom and godly focus he’ll need to lead our nation in a way that brings glory to God. And, as Paul instructed Timothy, we pray for a government that would allow us to live peaceful, holy, lives, so that all men might be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.
As I prepare for the upcoming series on Death and the Life after that, I wanted to briefly meditate on one connection between ourselves and President-Elect Obama. Now that the votes have been counted, President-Elect Obama finds himself in an interesting place, living in the tension between the “already” and the “not yet.” On the one hand, he has been elected President. But on the other hand, he has not yet taken office. He has been chosen already, but he is not yet Commander-in-Chief.
Those who have come to saving faith in Jesus Christ find themselves in a similar predicament. On the one hand, we have been saved. We have been marked with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession (Ephesians 1:13-14). We have been given eternal life (1 John 5:11-13). We are seated in the heavenly realms with Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6). Our place in heaven is secure, and we are citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:20). But we’re not in heaven yet. Like President-Elect Obama, we live in the already-not yet tension.
The big question is, how should we then live? Should President-Elect Obama live as if he were not the president, since he is not technically the President until January 20th? Or should he begin to live as if he is the president? Should he wait until his inauguration to act Presidential, or should he begin now to learn all he can so that he might be best prepared to take office on that day? I think the answer is clear – since he is going to be President, the wisest thing Mr. Obama can do is to prepare to be President until the day he takes residence in the White House. The old Obama is passing away, so to speak, and the new one is coming.
We who have come to saving faith, whose citizenship is in heaven, who are heading towards an eternity with God, likewise should recognize that it makes no sense to live according to our old selves. We are a new creation in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17). Our future reality is as a resident of God’s kingdom. That is where our treasure lies now, and therefore we would be wise to live in preparation for that place, not spending our money and time on what will not last, but giving ourselves wholeheartedly to that which will last forever. As Paul put it in 1 Corinthians 15:58, “Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” We are encouraged to “put off our old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires, [and] to be made new in the attitude of your minds” (Ephesians 4:22-23). It makes no sense to waste your time living for things that will not last forever.
We live in the already-not yet tension. Our place in heaven is secure, but we are not yet residents there. Therefore, do not live according to the ways that characterized your old way of life, and do not spend your time and money on what will not last. Live instead as a citizen of heaven.
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