The Greatest (Election Day) Commandment

When asked by the scribe for him to choose the most important commandment in the Bible, Jesus says this:

Hear O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength, The second is like this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.

Notice, however, that before Jesus gives the commandments, he begins with a confession. The confession is called the Shema and was and is the great confession of faith in ancient and modern Judaism: “Hear O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one.”

This confession says, in effect, ‘God has called us to be His people and has promised to be our God. We will fear, love and trust in this God alone and forsake all others’.

It is, for Christians, on this Election Day, an important reminder. As we drop off our ballots or go to the polls, remember this: God is God. Whether the elections go your way or not, that does not change. No matter the results, we know for certain that God is still out in front, leading His entire creation toward His ultimate purpose - “to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth”. (Ephesians 1:9-10). 

No matter what, God is God. And no matter what, your neighbor is your neighbor. As forgiven and redeemed children of God, we really don’t get a say in who we are to love and serve. Instead, God has placed us where He wants us and called us to love those around us. 

And while our civic engagement as Christians is important, it is in the midst of these neighbor-to-neighbor relationships where Jesus is always at work - before, during, and after election season. It is there, in relationship, where God hands us the opportunity to do His work: to care for broken hearts, to bandage lingering wounds, and to speak words of grace to burdened souls. It is there that the Gospel is brought to bear in the lives of real people.

So - when the votes have all been counted, remember: God is still God. Your neighbor is still your neighbor. And you still belong to Jesus. And that’s Good News.