I had a great experience last evening. As part of Constitution and Citizenship Day at Southeastern University, I moderated a panel discussion on politics. First, I presented, without comment, planks from both the Democratic and Republican platforms on such issues as: national defense and terrorism; government reform; energy policy; education; environmentalism; abortion; and marriage, among others.
After I finished, I turned the program over to a panel of four Southeastern faculty members, who made comments on items in the platforms, sharing their Christian concerns in the process. When they completed their remarks, it was time for the audience (which numbered approximately one hundred) to ask questions of the panel.
Why do I call this a great experience? Because two goals were achieved. The first was to better inform potential voters as to the issues at hand and where the respective parties stood on them. The second was to demonstrate that Christians, even when they may disagree with one another on certain aspects of public policy, can conduct themselves in a manner that does credit to the One they serve. The presence of God permeated the room; we were all challenged to make sure that our Christian faith has priority over our political views, and that our political views should be informed by our Christian faith.
Moreover, if we can carry ourselves in the love of God, the world will notice how different we are. Jesus said,
I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one. Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that You sent Me. . . . May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that You sent Me. (John 17:20-21,23)
It’s nice to experience that unity once in a while. It should be a more common occurrence.