Donald J. Trump will be the 45th
President of the United States. I took a serious moment of reflection about
this statement. If I would have written this, even 6 months ago, I would have
laughed at myself. But, it is now a reality. It is a reality that is much like
a diagnosis of cancer. With the initial news comes shock, then denial, then
acceptance, and finally hope. Let me be clear that Donald Trump is not the
cancer. The cancer is the heart of Americans who reflect the values on which
Donald Trump won the election.
Many white, evangelical Christians
voiced this morning that their country is now secure, that their values are
preserved, that a knight on a white horse has saved them. I was listening to
conservative talk radio this morning and the talk-show pundit literally said, “our
country is saved”. For me, this mentality is a reflection of 1st Samuel 8 in the Bible.
“And the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Obey the
voice of the people in all that they said to you, for they have not rejected
you, but they have rejected me from being king over them’”- 1st Samuel 8:7
The results of this election are
not a reflection of God’s kingdom. How can I say this? How can I say that the
hearts of the people do not desire God’s guidance, but the guidance of a very
depraved man? I can say this with complete confidence, because those that
celebrate this victory represent the majority of a single class of people.
Black Americans did not wake up this morning with praise for the results of
this election. Muslim Americans did not wake up feeling more safe than they did
the night before. Hispanic Americans did not wake up filling their homes with
music and laughter. There is mourning and serious concern among American
minority households. The most disconcerting truth is that they are not so much
concerned that Donald Trump was elected, as they are about the overwhelming
resound of white America praising God for a future that will build a metaphorical,
and possibly a literal wall between the white majority and those on the other
side.
However, there is a counter
cultural movement in America, a great awakening of God’s people, a movement in opposition
to the heart of this division. This movement is taking place in the American
church. The majority of Christian Americans are not aware of this movement,
because it is not taking place in large congregations that are predominately
filled with white faces. It is taking place in many small church plants that
represent the cultural mosaic of God’s chosen people, a people of many colors,
many cultures, and many nationalities. This group of people is a reflection of
the population of America. These congregations are a representation of what is
right with America, the beauty of what it truly means to be American.
It doesn’t stop there, however.
These congregations, because of their cultural diversity, are concerned about
the plight of their religious neighbors. They are concerned about the
well-being of the communities around them. They are not a representation of
their majority brethren, those that seek live behind the golden-gated community
of hostility. They are a reflection of peacemakers. They do not desire to
preserve a dying culture, in a vastly diversifying world. They desire inclusivity
and unity.
The muli-ethnic church in America
will be the foundation of our nation’s security. America cannot continue to
remain where it has over the past 50 years. The world is changing and whether
the majority culture in America recognizes it, America is also changing; it’s
changing to reflect the mosaic of God’s kingdom. He is preparing his bride for
the day he returns for her. Regardless of what man plans, God’s sovereignty
remains, and His purpose will prevail.
The one thing that concerns me most
is that the majority, as much as they claim to know Him, do not know Christ
(Matt 7:21). They praise God for the results of the election, raise their hands
to heaven, they sing songs of praise, they do projects, they feed the poor, but
if you look around their congregations, you will see white washed tombs (Matt
23). These are the same people that from their mouths “bless our Lord and Father, and with it (we) curse people who are made
in the likeness of God” (James 3:9). There will be a day of judgment, where
God will require an account of our wrongdoing and sin. Our response will be
Jesus, but he will say to these people, “I
never knew you; depart from me, you who do evil” (Matt 7:23).
I’m not worried about the results
of this election or any election. God is absolutely sovereign and absolutely
Holy. All things submit to His will. We have to step back and look at God’s
hand move and watch where he is going, and what he is doing. Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do
nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever
the Father does, that the Son does likewise” (John 5:19). Most will not
recognize this, because they are focused on their own circumstances and
concerns. But, there are those who belong to Jesus, those who will unite and be
the great awakening that America so desperately needs. This is the revival of
God’s people; this is the Multi-Ethnic Church.
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