Love is patient and kind;

love does not envy or boast;

it is not arrogant or rude.

It does not insist on its own way;

it is not irritable or resentful;

it does not rejoice at wrongdoing,

but rejoices with the truth.

Love bears all things,

believes all things,

hopes all things,

endures all things.

Love never ends. .......12For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.So now faith, hope and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Parts of I Corinthians 13 (ESV)


I suddenly saw this wonderful truth. So many years this chapter has been used as a measuring stick of our human love and interaction with one another - and it is bigger than most humans have achieved.

As this is God's heart and desire for us, for our best life, then this is also a description of God's love toward us. Sometimes I fail in grasping God's love. When things go wrong I even feel He has let me down.

I praise Him, He does not hold my feelings against me but in all things, in every way, His love is perfect, toward me; toward all His creation.

We truly comprehended His love through a glass darkly. What a glorious day it will be when we see Him face to face

We have the president we have today because as a nation, we chose form over substance in our election. This is the democratic way - to chose by the majority but what if the majority are majorly wrong.


I have been pondering how much, as a believer, is right to voice/act in opposition to what I feel is not good for the country. As a conservative I did not vote for the current president and have had my own feelings and struggles with him. Not any of those struggles are about his race. I personally wrote a letter to Walter Williams and urged him to run, but his reply was that he would be too politically incorrect. But, his forte is economics and I wish he had run and won. Sadly, he did not.


It seems, the conservatives were divided about who should be their voice, and the candidate who won the spot on the Republican ticket, got in by Democratic maneuvering, and apathetic Republicans.


What has really surprised me is that with all our resources, we still do not check out the ability or record of the candidates we put up for election, at city, county, state and national level. Ethical values or integrity don't seem to be the foundation for our choices. We choose our candidate by how well he speaks, what promises he makes. Also, it seems to be important how good the candidate looks. Does he fit the picture of success. We tend to be for people who look and act successful.


Another factor in this last election was the voice of the media. When a large, very vocal segment of the nation is for one candidate, and nothing is reported that doesn't fit the desired picture we have trouble. To add to that is that facts about the opposing candidate were distort, and deliberate lies told. That is how propaganda works, with truth misrepresented, and important facts repressed.


To us, on the conservative side, this is very frustrating and there has been a growing swell of dissent since the election.


But, I find several places in scripture where God states that He is the one who sets up and takes down princes (governments). So, what part can the Christian rightly play in the political arena?

do not believe bitter rhetoric, disrespectful speech or wild accusations are doing God's work.

If we are a democracy, which I personally don't believe is the best government, but better than most, then we are required to work for change within the boundaries of our laws. Not by offensive and personal attacks on the leaders though. We must work within the legal system to seek positive change.

But for us to just mooch around bemoaning the economy and presidential acts, wringing our hands and moaning and groaning indicates we do not trust that the Lord is LORD indeed.

For me, the greater issue is this. As a child of God, do I believe He is in control? Or am I acting like He has lost it? That is the real issue for the body of Christ. No, we do not need sit back and say, "Que sera, sera". But we need to trust the Lord within the situation.

And, it is by our own lives and choices we will make the real changes in our world around us. How does my life affect my community, my work place, my public actions. What I do assuredly speaks more loudly, than what I profess.

I have had to face this truth in my own life. I am looking at my own life choices and seeking to see the heart of God anew. I am not a judge for any other person but I want to say, if in truth God is God, and if He is Truth and the Almighty God, then I can trust Him even in a time of stress and trouble in my life and my land. He is with us, and He is inviting us to accept His Lordship over our lives. For me, it is with-in that framework I need to speak and act.