The world has neither ended nor significantly changed

I realize that emotions run high during an election and as we crested toward the climax, things got pretty crazy. I was watching the Obama celebration on Grant Park and saw people with tears running down their faces. If the tears of joy are about how far our nation has come in the past 40 years then it makes sense to me. 40 years ago, black people couldn't vote in the Democratic primaries and now we have a black Democratic president. That is certainly a Kingdom of God value.
If people are crying tears of joy because of Barak Obama however, I'm not looking forward to their eventual letdown. Barak Obama is just a man! He's now a man with a LOT of power and influence but he will not be able to alter the basic realities of the fallen world in which we live. I know there are a lot of Christ-followers in our country who have placed hope in Obama but my hope is that they keep their perspective. Obama is not the 2nd coming.

Neither is Obama the devil! I know a lot of Christ-followers who are really scared of Obama's presidency. As I was perusing facebook status last night, I was really disappointed in some of the stuff I was reading from fellow Christ-followers. The world is not over. Our country is way too stable for one man to bring it down (although the President can connect with some serious blows). Contrary to what I heard on talk radio yesterday, Obama is not going to raise up his own army that will overthrow our military and turn us into a fascist state. I seriously heard a radio host warn about that.

I'm pretty sure God didn't have a horse in this presidential race. God isn't too concerned about the horses because he just so happens to own the racetrack.

The best Obama can do won't advance the Kingdom of God and the worst Obama could do will not slow down the Kingdom of God. Jesus described us as a yeast or a weed that stubbornly continues to grow even when those around don't appreciate it.

The world didn't really change last night. The world changed for all eternity however, on the first Easter morning about 2,000 years ago. When Jesus' disciples saw their risen leader, they knew the fundamental reality of existence had changed. Evil was dealt a death blow and the empty tomb demonstrated that nothing can stop God's plans for healing this world. As hard as it tried, the mighty Roman Empire couldn't stop the Kingdom of Jesus. Unfortunately, some Christ-followers tried to wed the Kingdom of God to the Empire of Rome for a couple hundred years, but 1,600 years after Rome's fall, the Kingdom of God is still going strong. If the US 'falls' before Jesus returns, then the Kingdom will continue to grow.

In the aftermath of this political process, it's good to remember that our citizenship rests in an eternal Kingdom. Let's continue the work Jesus gave us of bringing that Kingdom to Earth while letting politicians focus on work that will eventually become ancient history.

Signs waving, cheers, flashbulbs, music playing...