“By the grace of God, I am what I am,” the Apostle Paul, church planting evangelist par excellence, said of himself, humbly, in I Cor. 15:10 just after confessing that he was least of all the apostles and not worthy to be called an apostle; yet, he was what he was!
And, so are you! You have never been called or commanded to do the work of any other person: you are your unique self, one person, and only able to do exactly what your Creator has planned for you to do today, one day at a time.
And, today just happens to be election day here in the USA, 2020. The polls are open; hopefully you are registered to vote. You have approximately ‘til sundown depending upon which state you live in, to get to a designated voting place to cast your ballot for the candidate of your choice.
The two major political parties, with their candidates, have made their cases to the American people. Every office is important. You no doubt have heard it said that “all politics are local politics.” At the grassroots level debates, deliberations and discussions have occurred that have shaped the direction of the party platform that will eventually impact the direction and destiny of a nation. There is no inconsequential vote to be cast; no unimportant office to fill, and no candidate for any office that should be considered with indifference. Today is an historic day in our nation’s history.
Today, America stands at a crossroads: we will choose our leaders, lawmakers and executives, for another two, four or six years. Every vote is hugely critical. Each person who casts a ballot or pulls a lever will vote for life or death, morality or immorality, truth or tyranny, socialism or capitalism, freedom or oppression.
Yes, the contrast could not be more pronounced. Long shadows are being cast over our nation’s horizon by little people. Churches are being harassed by petty bureaucrats. Laws, customs, mores, history books, and monuments are being turned upside down to accommodate the “woke” world. People who are dedicated to keeping neighborhoods, streets, malls and public squares safe places to congregate are having to dodge bricks, vile epithets and lawless mobs while the peace-keeping thin blue line of law enforcement is abjectly abandoned by city councils gone crazy. It’s not the America most of us have known; it’s not the America most of us want to know. You, friend, must vote.
Yes, you are only one, but you are one, and one vote has, and one vote can turn the course of history. The Middleton, Massachusetts home page cites some elections won or lost by the narrowest of margins: In 1800 Thomas Jefferson was elected President by one vote in the House of Representatives after a tie in the Electoral College; in 1824 Andrew Jackson won the presidential popular vote but lost to John Quincy Adams after an Electoral College deadlock; in 1845 the U.S. Senate passed the convention to annex Texas by just two votes, and more recently, in 2000, the Presidential election was decided by just 537 votes with more than six million voters having voted, so, yes, one vote, your vote, counts and is very important so do not let the huge early voting numbers discourage you from doing you civic duty: get out and vote today. You will not regret doing it, but you most certainly may regret not doing it. See you at the polls!
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” (Edmund Burke)
“Therefore, to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” James 4:17
YOU and GOD 