Election Over! Now What?

It’s Sunday evening as I compose this.  It seems like something important is supposed to happen in a couple of days.  Oh, now I remember.  We are electing a president. 

I can’t wait for Wednesday!  Certainly the outcome of the elections will be important.  But I think I may be most excited about television with no campaign ads.  Have you seen the viral video with the little girl crying because she is tired of Bronco Bama and Mitt Romney?  I’m with her.  By the time you are reading this in the newspaper or online, the decision will have been made unless we have a repeat of 2000.  Boy, I’ll bet anyone named Chad is really hoping to avoid those hanging jokes.

So how much will our lives change now that we know who will be our president for the next four years?  I suspect life will change much less than we imagine.  While there are vast differences between the candidates, neither brings to the Oval Office a magic wand that will solve unemployment, health care, the national debt, or what’s wrong with the Dallas Cowboys.  Certainly many of us are praying for a renewal of the Judeo-Christian values on which our country was founded, but real change requires more than election cycle promises.  It is easy to change personnel, but unless the system changes, the best personnel can hope for is to have a measure of influence.

So, here’s a deeper question for those of us who are Christ-followers.  If our lives really do matter to God, what do we do now that the presidential election is over? 

 "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'   This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'   All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:36-40) 

No election loopholes here. 

Jesus came and told his disciples, "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  (Matthew 28:18-20) 

Not here either. 

Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. (Romans 12:2) 

Seeing a pattern yet? 

Neither a change in personnel nor a change in system changes our mission.  So let’s pray for our president and our nation and get back to the business of living lives that make God proud.  

His office is, after all, permanently and eternally filled.

An Ordinary, Imperfect Example

If God had a wife, it would be my Grandmother.  At least that’s what I thought when I was a kid.  She probably did more ministry than any preacher in the little community of Grandfalls, TX.  Her skills as a Registered Nurse were pretty valuable in that west Texas community.  She visited the sick and also visited on behalf of the little Baptist church there.  Rumor has it that folks were afraid to miss church on Sunday because Mrs. Pollard would be at their house on Monday to check on them.

She was a saint in the Biblical sense of the word.  What that means is that she was a follower of Christ and understood that God had selected her for a purpose.  That’s what the word means: “One who has been set apart for God’s purpose.”  And just like those other Biblical saints, she wasn’t perfect.

When my mom was in college, she went through a rough patch.  Grandmother was worried about her and went out to where Granddaddy was working out in the west Texas oilfields.  As Granddaddy told it, she expressed her concern to him and he had an answer for her.  “The only thing wrong with that girl is that she inherited your temper and my temper and the combination of those two is pure hell.” (His words, not mine).  According to his recollection, Grandmother stuck out her chin and said, “I’ll have you know I don’t have a temper!” And then she stomped over to her car, got in and slammed the door, and sped off throwing gravel all the way down that oil patch road.

Grandmother has been gone for 36 years and Granddaddy has been gone for 12, but that is one of the many stories that get repeated, and laughed about, when Mom and I start reminiscing, as we did last weekend. I think I enjoy hearing about the funny predicaments and foibles of my ancestors more than I enjoy hearing about their successes; partly because they are funny and partly because it reminds me that God shows up in ordinary, imperfect people who follow Him.

The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”  As one who wrote more than two-thirds of the New Testament and who evangelized most of his known world, he might have been tempted to just say, “Follow my example.”  But his focus was pointing people to Christ.

Grandmother pointed me to Jesus.  An occasional temper flare up can never negate that.  I hope that when my future grandchildren remember the quirks of their ordinary and imperfect grandfather, they remember someone who loved them, pointed them to Jesus, and helped them understand how much their lives matter to God.

I once commented that my kids got their temper from their mother.  She said that must be true because I still have mine.  Oops!

I guess if it works that way, they must have gotten their good looks from me.  After all, she still has hers.

Absolute Certainty

I missed church a couple of Sundays ago.  It happens occasionally due to travel, but this was a miss due to illness.  I think it was only the second one of those missed Sundays in the past 25 years of ministry.  Because I was scheduled to pinch hit for a vacationing pastor, I had to find a pinch hitter for the pinch hitter.  During my couple of hours of text messaging for that purpose, one of my preacher friends gave me a new term for the ailment that I was experiencing: “intestinal uncertainty”. 

Now you know why I was afraid to leave the house.

If you have been reading my blog for more than a week or two, you know that my mind sometimes goes in unexpected directions.  I started thinking about other “uncertainties” that might make you want to just stay home in bed.

First, there is “educational uncertainty”.  This happens when you choose to hang out with friends instead of studying on the night before mid-terms.

Then there is “vocational uncertainty”. This happens when you have a difference of opinion with your employer.  And you realize that only one of those opinions matters.

There might be “relational uncertainty”.  This happens when you suspect that your in-laws might be coming for an extended visit.

That could result in “matrimonial uncertainty”. This could happen when you make too many in-law jokes.

Finally, and mercifully, there is “compositional uncertainty”.  This happens when you think you may have exhausted the patience of your readers.

Life is full of uncertainties.  Sometimes we are keenly aware of them. I have had conversations recently with people who are not making any significant decisions until after the presidential election.  They are almost paralyzed with uncertainty over the future.  For those who suffer uncertainty paralysis, I am reminded of a passage of Scripture that I have often used as an anchor.  Psalm 20:7-8 says, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.”

The upcoming election is important and there will certainly be consequences that accompany either candidate’s election.  But neither of these candidates holds the world together.  God does that.

There are also uncertainties that are not so obvious.  James 4:13-15 says, “Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.'"

There is nothing wrong with making plans.  But what do you do when the life you planned doesn’t happen?  The answer is the same.  Trust God.  Your life matters to Him.

You can be certain about that.

It's All About Who You Know

I got to sing for a very special birthday party last weekend. Azle Elementary School (aka “The Rock”) turned 100 years old.  The building that started out as Azle High School in 1912 has been a campus for grades 5-6 for as long as I can remember. 

As a resident of Azle for the past 21 years, I am accustomed to getting invitations to sing or speak at special events.  This invitation, however, came because they needed a last minute pinch hitter.  The celebration organizers had put together a great lineup of former “Rock” students representing several generations to entertain visitors at the big shindig.  Two days before the event, the person scheduled for the 9:30-10:00 a.m. time slot had to cancel.  After the initial panic, someone suggested they call me.  “But he didn’t go to school here,” someone said.  “Both his kids did,” said someone else, “and that’s close enough.”  Fortunately, I had a couple of open hours on Saturday morning and was able to fill in.

I got to thinking about all the opportunities that have come to me because of relationships.  I was on that stage Saturday first of all because I am Tova and Zeke’s dad and I got to know their teachers when they went to school there.  I’ve been involved in events because of whose dad, husband, son, nephew, grandson, son-in-law, or friend I am.  I have a website (gerrylewisonline.com) that describes a lot of the things I have done and for which I am available, but I can’t recall a single time that someone found out about me there and invited me to participate in their event.  Pretty much every invitation has come because someone who knows me recommended me to someone else.

That is a humbling reminder that life is about relationships. Each one of us has had someone who connected us with someone else.  Think of that person who served as a reference to help you get a job.  Or the person who introduced you to your spouse.  Or the lifelong friend you made because your kids were on the same t-ball team.

For many of us, we can think of the person, or perhaps several different persons, who introduced us to faith.  For those of us who have a personal relationship with Christ, it almost never happened without someone else’s influence.

I am even thinking about what the end of life will be like.  If I understand the Bible correctly, there will be a time when I come into the presence of God.  The only way I will get to remain in His presence is because of Someone else.  Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

Our lives matter so much to God that He puts the right connections in place for us.  I am so thankful for those who have connected me.

Now, who can I connect?

Looking Through Eyes of Love

For two evenings last weekend, I was in the audience to see my son perform in the title role in West Texas A&M’s performance of The Elephant Man.  This true story of a 19^th century Englishman with severe physical deformities is a powerful piece of theater as well as a glimpse into the good and the bad of humanity.  Click here to read more of the true story and see actual photos.

As a proud and completely biased father, I can tell you that my son was amazing as Merrick.  The fact that I am biased does not make it any less true.  I have seen enough theater to know good acting when I see it and I was mesmerized.  No special effects or prosthetics were used to create the hideous deformities of Joseph Merrick.  The illusion was created by acting and posture.  I could go on and on.

But I won’t.

I really don’t want this week’s blog to be about my son or about the play.  I want to focus on how we see people.  Last week I wrote about noticing people, not being oblivious to those around us.  This week I am thinking more about how we often arbitrarily place value on individuals based on external appearances.  And I am thinking about how often we are wrong.

My friend, Perry Clark, was born with cerebral palsy 72 years ago.  He has to have a walker to get around and his speech is difficult to understand.  There are those who think he doesn’t have much to offer to the world, but there are few people I have known who love as deeply and loyally as Perry.  He has a quick wit and is a joy to be around.  I got to spend a little time with him one evening this past week for the first time in several years.  The blessing was mine.  That’s someone I know.

In the audience at the play one night was a young man who was obviously born with extreme physical deformities in his arms and legs.  He sat in the row behind us.  I did not speak with him, but I heard his insightful conversation with his companions during intermission.  That’s someone I don’t know.  I wonder how many times in his life he has been undervalued because of his physical appearance.

Like Joseph Merrick, most people with physical or mental disabilities don’t want to be pitied and avoided.  They want to be valued. They want to have friends.  They want to contribute.  They want to have conversations.  They want to be treated like people.

Our lives matter so much to God that He wants us to treat every person as someone whose life matters, someone who was created in the image of God (on the inside where it really matters), and someone for whose sins Jesus died.

God, give us loving eyes so we can see like You.