These are the best of post-election posts from among the blogs I read. I am proud this morning to be a brother in Christ with these men and women, for their commitment to the proper Biblical attitude toward President-elect Barack Obama and the election.
Justin Taylor, on President Obama:
It’s very easy to forget–especially for those of us who are on the younger side–that it was only a little over 40 years ago that there were Jim Crow laws in the US. Just a generation ago, many African Americans were segregated from whites in public schools, transportation, restrooms, and restaurants.
Tonight, the United States has elected a biracial man to serve as its leader.
John Mark Reynolds, on Morning in America:
Wednesday the sun came up and I was happy. It is still morning in America. The candidate I voted for did not win, but I got to vote in a free and fair election. Power will be passed peacefully and the Constitution is intact.
We should never take that for granted.
Melinda Penner at Stand to Reason, on Our Biblical Civic Responsibility:
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1Timothy 2:1-4Click to view 1Timothy 2:1-4 (ESV)).
Al Mohler, on America Has Chosen a President:
For many of us, the end of the night brought disappointment. In this case, the disappointment is compounded by the sense that the issues that did not allow us to support Sen. Obama are matters of life and death — not just political issues of heated debate. Furthermore, the margin of victory and sense of a shift in the political landscape point to greater disappointments ahead. We all knew that so much was at stake.
For others, the night was magical and momentous. Young and old cried tears of amazement and victory as America elected its first African-American President — and elected him overwhelmingly. Just forty years after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, an African-American stood to claim victory as President-Elect of the nation. As Sen. Obama assured the crowd in Chicago and the watching nation, “We will get there. We will get there.” No one hearing those words could fail to hear the refrain of plaintive words spoken in Memphis four decades ago. President-Elect Obama would stand upon the mountaintop that Dr. King had foreseen.
Timmy Brister, on The Change We Need:
On the other hand, I can’t help but think that the Obama presidency will help Christians who happen to be American to open our eyes to our syncretistic views of American Christianity. While the fundamentalist impulse is to retreat into the ghetto, pull out the dispensationalism charts, and check the rapture ready index as a morning devotional, perhaps for the first time Christians will no longer seek to Christianize America but speak prophetically and live missionally in our growingly secular world. Our greatest need is not to fight the battle against the culture but to fight against the battle against unbelief. It is safe to live as functional atheists when we’ve got God in our constitution, on our coins, in the White House, but when the props are removed from us, how shall we then live?
Josh Harris, on Praying for President Obama:
On Sunday I told my church that after the election half the country would be elated, confident that all would be right in the world because their candidate won; the other half dejected and sure that the world had ended because their candidate lost. But Christians should realize that both sides are wrong. If you voted for Obama, he isn’t worthy of your ultimate hope. And if you didn’t vote for him, don’t despair as though Jesus isn’t reigning over the world.
Randy Alcorn, on It’s Over; but It’s not Over (one Day it will be):
I pray that in those areas where President Obama does advocate what is right, God will richly bless him. I pray God will give him wisdom and strength in negotiating with international heads of state. I pray God will change his mind in areas where he’s wrong, and restrain him from keeping his promises to Planned Parenthood concerning the Freedom of Choice Act, which would dramatically set back the legal cause of unborn children. I pray that, by some heart-changing miracle or providential human miscalculation, the next Supreme Court justice would be someone who would vote for the right to life of our smallest children, God’s smallest children.
I join my brothers and sisters in offering prayers for President-elect Obama, his family, and our nations. My congratulations to his supporters in their celebration, and to all of us as we celebrate our cherished democratic process. As John Mark Reynolds said, let us never take that for granted, nor forget that, though we may disagree with the outcome, yesterday is exactly how it is supposed to work. (Not to mention that it, like everything else, was exactly God’s plan.)
