A political post?
Hey all – I’ve admitted here before that I’m personally a political junkie. Beyond enjoying the process, I also happen to have very strong opinions about politics, even if those opinions don’t necessarily line up with a single candidate or even political party.
Most of the time, I keep those opinions totally separate form church life….for one reason: Persuading people toward my political views is not nearly as important as helping people encounter Jesus Christ. And, sadly, I believe there are a lot of people who have missed out on Jesus because a pastor or church decided to go political.
But, there was a piece of news today that I want so badly for the world to hear that I’m willing to post on it. John McCain surprised a lot of people with his VP pick the other day. I’ve taken a “wait and see” approach with Sarah Palin since she was such an unknown. Since then a few news stories have come out, including the one yesterday saying that her 17 year old daughter is pregnant.
It’s received some extra press because (1) Sarah Palin is pro-life and has encouraged the teaching of abstinence in schools and (2) apparently everyone was curious to see how so-called “evangelicals” would react to this “out of wedlock” pregnancy.
Here’s the thing for me: it feels like there is a general sentiment out there in media-world that it would be inconsistent to stand for strong values/morals/ethics while giving grace to those who find themselves in tough situations when they have stepped outside of those moral boundaries. And maybe I can imagine such a reaction from the person who has never studied Jesus’ life or encountered the power of God’s grace in their own life. But for those of us who follow Jesus, it is the only right way to react.
We should lead the charge in calling people to a life of high personal responsibility, integrity, and morality while being the first in line to help the person who finds themselves knocked back in life (even as a result of their own choices).
(I do think to myself, what are the other options…? The opposite? Teach people that anything goes and then abandon them when their choices result in a difficult circumstances?)
Jesus taught strongly against adultery…then, he gave grace to the woman caught in adultery. Listen to his parable of the prodigal son. Imagine the scene of the cross where Jesus offers heaven to a guy guilty enough to hang on the cross next to him. This IS Jesus’ story. His GRACE is undeserved favor. It has it’s source in unconditional love. And it shows up most powerfully when everyone else shows self-righteous JUDGEMENT.
I’m passionate about it A LITTLE becuase I’ve seen others light up when they have made a poor moral decision and I’ve offered them grace even after teaching them the right thing to do. I’m passionate about it A LOT because I need that grace in my own life every day. And Jesus gave his life for me even when I didn’t deserve it.
My conviction…if Christians could get this one right consistently…the world would run to Jesus and be absolutely compelled by his followers.
.Real.Greg.Lee. 
Amen. My family has been through the same situation and if grace would have been extended to our daughter instead of total judgement and accusations I wonder where her walk would be today
The family situation of Governor Palin is not really something I find appropriate to be a gauge of her abilities or qualifications to be the Vice President (or perhaps the President of the United States of America) so I am not judging her on that very personal family matter and I would hope that others would do the same. “Judge not, lest ye be judged”….. my ferverent hope is that the very best candidates be put in the Oval Office to help steer our country out of this very difficult time. I am hoping that God is smiling down on us on the November 4th elections!
All I have to say about Gov. Palin and ALL of her wonderful kids is “Thank You, Dear Lord!” When she stood on that stage Wednesday night and said something like “All of you families in America with special needs kids- you will now have a friend and an advocate in the White House,” all I could do was BAWL!!!!! Maybe, just maybe, she will have the power to show the world the value and the incredible joy received by being the parent of our special children. I am so-o-o grateful to belong to a family of Christ-followers who don’t have to be shown, who already know it!!!!!