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ReVision

Referendum?

  • November 29, -0001
The Massachusetts special senatorial election on Tuesday is being touted as a referendum on the Obama Administration and its centralist agenda. Perhaps it is. Conservatives in Congress and the media insist that, no matter the outcome, the people of the Commonwealth are voicing their outrage and that they represent a microcosm of the American electorate.

That may be true. I'm not sure. I want to think it matters a great deal, that replacing the likes of Ted Kennedy and dozens of other progressive politicians would be a good thing and would set the country back on a proper course. But I am not persuaded. America's deepest needs are not political; they are spiritual and moral. And with the likes of John Ensign and Mark Sanford on the side of conservativism and Christian faith, we need to be realistic concerning the state, not only of opposition politics, but of Christian faith in general.

To be blunt, American Christians don't strike me as a very serious lot. Oh, they're nice enough. They go to their Bible studies, take time to pray each day, are faithful in their churches, and generally try to keep their noses clean - well, their public noses, at any rate. And there are millions of us - scores of millions of confessing Christians in well-funded churches that sponsor an encyclopedia of ministry opportunities to meet the felt needs of anyone who happens to wander in the door.

But it's not working. We are squeamish about evangelism, and, when we do it at all, tend to leave out the hard parts and difficult demands of the Gospel. We excuse ourselves from submitting to the Law of God, which, if we would heed it, could put us on a course of moral, social, and cultural renewal that this country has not seen in years. And our worship: we have reduced worship to a kind of therapy where everything is constructed to make us feel OK and be happy-and-we-know-it, clap our hands.

Spiritual disciplines languish. Church discipline is almost non-existent. Giving is a pittance of what it should be. Concern for culture is taken captive by a desire to be entertained rather than to glorify God.

No amount of political change will bring to this nation the restoration of greatness and honor that so many suppose. What we need is spiritual change - revival, renewal in our mission to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom, and this leading to a worldwide awakening such as has happened in the past.

But who wants all that, anyway? Do you? Do these words - revival, renewal, awakening - fill your prayers? Is seeking the Kingdom of God the all-commanding priority of your life? Are you as outraged at the way we as a community have trivialized the faith of Christ as you are at the way the present administration is plundering the economy? Christian friend, what do you really want in life? The election on Tuesday will come and go, and, be sure of it, the euphoria - one way or the other - will quickly fade, and the nation will continue its drift into pragmatism, relativism, utilitarianism, and the wrath of God. I'm not counseling political apathy

I'm pleading for spiritual urgency.

T. M. Moore

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