Taking a Stand

I live in place where you’re all but legally required to declare your allegiance to one of two colleges: University of Tennessee or Virginia Tech. So let it be known that I am a fan of my father’s alma mater, Virginia Tech (or VPI, as it was called back in the day). I tease my friend Debbie because she has a cozy blanket that sports the UT logo and colors on one side and VT’s on the other. She graduated from Virginia Tech, but is a big fan of the Lady Vols basketball team, and her daughter Sarah also recently graduated from Tennessee. So depending on who’s playing any given evening or weekend, Debbie can curl up on the sofa with the right gear.

These two schools never even meet on the football field, but the divide isn’t just collegiate. It’s a tale of two states, and Bristol is a city divided right down the middle of its downtown by State Street, where my daughter took this picture at the Rhythm & Roots music festival last month. Bristolians have to choose between living in Virginia or Tennessee, and sometimes the people even go so far as to buy their tomatoes according to what state they were grown in. (I’m not kidding.)

People take a stand on a whole host of personal issues, from coffee vs. tea (coffee, please) to mountain vs. beach vacations (since I live in the mountains, I’ll pick the beach). The church is especially prone to division on issues like contemporary or traditional worship, King James or NIV Bibles, and baptism by dunking or sprinkling.

And with a presidential election just days away now, the clamor to take a stand for the candidate or party of your choice is reaching a fever pitch. Obviously, who wins is important. But no matter who’s in the Oval Office, it’s who’s on the Throne of Grace that matters even more, Amen? That said, I received this list of “predictions” in an email recently:

TEN PREDICTIONS NO MATTER WHO WINS THE ELECTION:

1. The Bible will still have all the answers.

2. Prayer will still work.

3. The Holy Spirit will still move.

4. God will still inhabit the praises of His people.

5. There will still be God-anointed preaching.

6. There will still be singing of praise to God.

7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.

8. There will still be room at the Cross.

9. Jesus will still love you.

10. Jesus will still save the lost.

I don’t know about you, but these truths give me some welcomed perspective for the next 10 days. So no matter who you’re voting for President, you can get out there and campaign for Christ, in your homes, workplaces, and communities, through word and deed. We’re called to run the race, and there’s no question that He’s going to win!

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. ~ Hebrews 12:1 (NIV)