Wednesday, November 5

A Significant Moment in History

I didn't vote for Barak Obama. I wasn't excited about John McCain and I was disappointed by his selection of Sarah Palin as a running mate. But I couldn't bring myself to vote for Barak Obama. The radical positions he has taken on abortion were more than I could overcome.

But regardless of how I voted, I can't help but be struck by the significance of Barak Obama's election. Yesterday was an historic day, a significant day in the history of our nation. Please don't miss that, regardless of what you think of Mr. Obama or his politics. It was only 40 years ago that Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis. An African-American president would have been unthinkable then or in several years following that. But today Barak Obama is our president-elect. His selection says much about how far we have come as a nation.

I don't want to miss that or the significance of his victory. Even if I didn't vote for him.

We have made great strides, but there are still so much to be done in the area of race relations. If you walk through the dining halls on campus, you can't help but be struck by the "voluntary segregation" that goes on. And "integration" is a concept that has failed to hit the Church in any significant way. Because of this, I believe we are missing out on a powerful witness to our world - that Jesus Christ really does change hearts and heal wounds and reconcile people.

In God's wonderful way of working things out, I will be preaching from Acts 10 this Sunday - Peter and Cornelius and the gospel's work in breaking down racial barriers (as well as talking about the big sheet of animals in the sky). God's "dream" for his people on earth is that we reflect the reality of heaven - where people of every tribe and nation and language gather before his throne to worship him.

We have been blessed to have more diversity than we have ever had in our ministry, particularly in our Sunday morning services - students from around the world, as well as of different ethnic backgrounds. But there is still much to be done.

Yesterday's election was a big step. But there are a lot of more steps that need to be taken. Both in our country and in the Church.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Mike, I have been thinking and feeling the same things. The historic nature of Obama's election was very moving to me. There was so much I liked about the man, and I admired his accomplishments and it is really cool to think of how far race relations have come. They have farther to go, especially in the church.

I have never been a particular fan of McCain, although I also admire him for what he's endured and accomplished in his life, and I was not a fan of his choice of Sara Palin, by any means.

I wanted to vote for Obama, to be honest, I wanted to be a part of this historic moment, but it came down to his extreme stand on abortion. I simply couldn't do it. With no real joy, I voted for McCain.

Nevertheless, his election is still a historic moment and I hope it can be an encouragement to Christians to work harder at creating racial unity in the body of Christ.

I wonder how many other Christians felt this way? I'll bet quite a few.

--jeff miller