“Make the Cross Count!”
‘The church should stay out of politics’. Now where have we heard that before? But as the French President General Charles De Gaulle (1890-1970) once said, ‘Politics is too serious a matter to be left to politicians!’ So how might the Christian faith influence our vote? To start with, Christians believe that…
God is the Creator – as well as the Saviour. That’s why climate change, protecting our heritage, controlling pollution, conserving energy, making transport clean and efficient, building a sustainable economy and reviving rural communities are important because we believe that creation belongs to God.
And because people are made in the ‘image of God’ (Genesis 1:26) all life – both before and after conception – is important to him. That’s why the future of the Health Service and concern about abortion and euthanasia will be on a Christian’s agenda. Secondly…
God is a God of Justice – as well as Justification. In his first sermon Jesus said “The Sprit of the Lord is upon me because he has chosen me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed and announce that the time has come when the Lord will save his people” (Luke 4) So all forms of injustice and discrimination need to be confronted, whether it’s debt relief and global poverty, or asylum and the right to a safe refuge, household debt or interest rates – for all are important to God. Then thirdly…
God is a God of Relationships – as well as Revelation. That is why marriage and family life, care for the young and the elderly, education and provision for those who are infirm need to be supported, because Jesus said that he had come to bring ‘life’ – life is all it’s fullness’ (John 10:10) to both young and old. But that is also why no political party can ultimately satisfy the deepest needs of human beings, because we were created to love God and enjoy him forever. As St Augustine (354 – 430) once said of God ‘You have made us for yourself and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in thee.’
That is why ‘The central issues of our time aren’t economic or political or social, important as these are. The central issues of our time are moral and spiritual in nature, and our calling is to declare Christ’s forgiveness and hope and transforming power to a world that does not know him or follow him. May we never forget this’ (Billy Graham). For inscribed into the stone floor of the Central Lobby in the Houses of Parliament are these words from Psalm 127 “Unless the Lord builds the house it’s labourers labour in vain”.
Charles
