The national election is over…except that it’s not.  Because we not only choose who will lead our country, we choose how we will follow.

There’s an old worship song that includes these lines:

I have decided to follow Jesus
I have decided to follow Jesus
I have decided to follow Jesus
No turning back, no turning back.

So whatever you happen to think and believe and feel about the election results, you still get to choose how you will follow.

I’m writing this as the national and international news feeds are going ballistic about the election results from last night.  The mood in some quarters is almost funereal.  People are wondering if they’ll be allowed to stay in this country.  Others are wondering if they want to stay.  Almost like it’s all over.

But it ain’t over!  Never has there been a greater call for the followers of Jesus to actually follow him.  And God’s word has some helpful insights as we ponder our following.

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.  Psalm 20:7  [Who am I really trusting in?]

All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord; they will bring glory to your name.  For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God.  Psalm 86:9-10 [Who really leads this world?]

The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?  Psalm 27:1 [What am I really afraid of?]

Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.  Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.  Psalm 82:3-4 [Am I involved in the things that matter to God?]

NOW is the time when the followers of Jesus need to choose to follow him as part of his new kingdom.

• A kingdom that is built on love, not on hate and fear.
• A kingdom that mimics our true leader, the one who associated with (and elevated the status of) those on the margins…the ones others considered unworthy or untouchable.
• A kingdom that sees what God sees in each and every person.
• A kingdom that is for ALL PEOPLE, regardless of gender, race, nationality, age, language, color, economics, education, status, or culture.
• A kingdom of HOPE. The hope that is at the core of the good news of Jesus Christ.

No, it ain’t over.  It’s just beginning.  It’s time for the followers of Jesus to focus on making God’s name great again.  To choose to follow in ways that will elevate his reputation, that will “hallow his name.”  Like the writer of Psalm 135 put it:

Your name, Lord, endures forever, your renown, Lord, through all generations.  Psalm 135:13

So let’s make God’s name great again.  (I know, it’s always been great…but too many have forgotten that.)  Let’s choose each day to follow well…to become like our teacher, our rabbi, our professor.  And let’s make the next four years an awesome time of experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit moving though our lives, our church, our community, our country, and our world.

It ain’t over.  It’s just getting started.  Choose well.  Follow well.  Vote for Jesus!

-Pastor Mark