God's Candidate, Revisited

God's Candidate, Revisited
by Bud Malmsten

Here is a typical response to my last column, "Who Is God's Candidate?" (February 25, 2000), in which I indicated we really won't know who it is until November 8, 2000, the day after the election.

"What a crock! If you really believe what you said in your column, you would have to believe that God's candidate in 1992 and 1996 was William Jefferson Clinton. Your biography says you are a Baptist pastor. How can any self-respecting evangelical come to such a ridiculous conclusion?"

Just for fun, let's look at the evangelical Christian preparation for the 1996 election. During the whole year we were called to prayer for the upcoming vote. As November approached, massive prayer campaigns were mounted, calling Christians to pray as never before. Churches participated in forty day, twenty-four hour prayer chains, in which concerned citizens would sign up to pray during a specific hour for God's direction in the selection of the President.

It is safe to say that no election in the history of the world was bathed more deeply in the prayers of God's people. Millions prayed as earnestly as they ever had for anything. Our leaders told us it was crucial, "If you don't pray, you have only yourself to blame for the outcome!"

So we prayed, and prayed, and prayed.

Then, finally, the fateful day arrived. We went to the polls, cast our ballots, and returned home to celebrate God's victory. The scoundrel would be thrown out in disgrace, at last.

However, somebody messed with our script. The election did not turn out the way we expected. The decent man was rejected, and the scoundrel was returned to office for four more years.

The silence of Evangelical Christian leaders following this devastation was deafening! Do you recall which ones called gatherings of thanksgiving to express our gratitude to God for answering our prayers in the election? Neither do I. It seems they were all struggling with the same questions we all had:

How could this happen?
Did we not pray enough?
Did God misunderstand our prayers?

Let me make it clear that God is not a Republican. Many Christians are, and I am, but God is not!

God is also not a Democrat. Many Christians are, but God is not.

Let me also make it clear that I have struggled with this issue (of praying for elections) as a direct result of the last two presidential cycles.

I do believe that God places people in positions of power to accomplish His purpose in this world. I also believe that my personal preferences are not His sole criteria for selecting leaders.

The Hebrew people of Jeremiah's day would not have preferred Nebuchadnezzar , but God referred to "N" as "My servant" (Jeremiah 25: 8-11). What did God's servant do for the people of Judah? He hauled all the leaders and the brightest of the young people off to Babylon and proceeded destroy Jerusalem, including the Temple.

Why? (Wouldn't you like a definitive answer to that one?) Here is a possibility. Over the years God's people had begun to think that God was all wrapped up in their nation, their city, and their temple. One overwhelming lesson they had to learn was that God is not limited in any way, especially not to their box. When they arrived in Babylon, they discovered that God was there! They could still worship, and pray, and participate in the culture, even away from their comfort zone.

So, how does this help us? Could it be that God has some of the same messages for us in the good old U.S. of A.? It is very easy for Americans to believe that good things happen by majority vote. If only we could make our preference the law, everything would be fine.

Some examples:

Abortion

One side: If only all restriction on abortion were removed, there would be no more unwanted children. Other side: If only we could outlaw all abortion, people would really respect everyone's right to life.

Guns

One side: If only we would eliminate all guns, we would have peace in our cities and especially our schools. Other side: If only everyone had a gun and knew how to use it, we would have peace in our cities, and especially in our schools.

Prayer in Schools

One side: If only we started every school day with prayer, everything else would take care of itself. Other side: If only we could eliminate all religious preferences people would all feel equally OK about themselves.

I believe that God has been reminding us for at least the past eight years, that He is active in our world, and that He invites us, one at a time, to come along side Him and participate in His reconciling work of transforming lives, one by one.

So, yes, William Clinton was God's candidate in 1992 and 1996. Now, who is God's candidate for the year 2000? We won't know until November 8th.