Reflections on the Morning of an Election

I am sitting here in the church this morning as the polls open (on the west coast) praying and spending time with God.  I’m experiencing that feeling that you get when your favorite College Football team is playing their archrivals – it’s the political version of Florida vs. Florida State or Auburn vs. Alabama, and the line on the game is “pick ‘em” (for those of you aren’t sports enthusiasts, that means that it is dead even).  It’s that feeling that you get when you sense your team is going to win, but there is always the uncertainty that goes along with that.  What if we fumble the ball at the goal line?

The one Scripture verse that has pervaded my mind and my spirit for the last seven days comes from Romans 8:28, and many of us know it quite well.  “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”  This scripture verse has hit me strongly in two areas – the election today, and in an issue that has been very important to this election, abortion.

Romans 8:28 makes it very clear.  No matter what happens, whether things are good or bad, God will always work good “for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.”  The ramifications of this are clear.  If we love God and we put our trust in Him and His greater purposes, we cannot lose, regardless of the outcome of the election.  Whether we win or lose, God created this world, and He is at work in it.  All the elect have to do is to love God and to trust in Him.  I cannot even begin to tell you how much hope that gives me in the midst of uncertainty.

The other way that Romans 8:28 has impacted me this week has been in the abortion arena.  St. Michael’s participated in the 40 Days for Life Campaign, and this weekend at Diocesan Convention, we had the amazing experience of hearing Georgette Forney’s testimony.

If there is one thing about the abortion debate that has impacted me, it is this one thought: many times, acts that create children are sinful, but the child is never the sin.  All children are a blessing, regardless of how they were conceived.  And that includes pregnancies that were brought about by rape and incest.  Even Mitt Romney, who is the better of the two candidates when it comes to abortion, supports abortion in the case of rape and incest.  And I say this to him and to any other candidate who supports any type of abortion.  Fornication, adultery, incest, and rape are all sins.  Clearly!  But to follow up these sins by committing the sin of murder is just heaping double the judgment on our heads, yet our society is encouraging women to do that very thing.

On the other hand, what if every woman decided against abortion and chose either to have the child and raise him as her own, or to give the child up for adoption?  This is where Romans 8:28 comes in.  By choosing to keep the child, we are acknowledging God Himself.  We are acknowledging that God really does make amazing things happen in the midst of seemingly bad situations.  All we have to do is trust in God, His goodness and His mercy.  All we have to do is simply love him – and allow ourselves to be filled through and through with His Grace and mercy.  When we do this, good really and truly does come out of a bad situation.  But we have to love God.

During this election, remember this.  God really and truly does work good in all things for those who love Him and are called according to His purposes.  Love God, and regardless of the outcome of this election, regardless of your life circumstances, you will experience God’s goodness and mercy.  You can count on it!