Ernie Banks, Mr. Cub, was famous for his baseball talents and his love of the game. The most famous quote attributed to Banks is, "Let's play two!" Banks so loved the game that on glorious summer afternoons, he'd just as soon play two games as one.
With that in mind, I share with you this. My sister had two fertilized eggs implanted yesterday courtesy of in-vitro. Could there be two little Halfords on the way to join our family? I hope so and pray so!
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Sad news out of Phoenix last night. Kirby Puckett, the diminuitive 5'8" sparkplug of the Minnesota Twins died after a massive stroke on Sunday. Listening to teammates talk about Puckett last night on Sportscenter was moving. I'll never forget watching him lead the Twins to the 1991 World Series championship over the Atlanta Braves.
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Today is primary election day in Texas. I hope all of my fellow Texans will exercise their citizenship stewarship today and vote.
The Bible makes clear, especially Paul's words to the Philippians in 3.17-21 and the Hebrew writers words in 11.13-16 that our real citizenship is in heaven. We must never forget that we are citizens of a far greater land than this. Our real citizenship resides in a place where there are no tears, no pain, and no elections for the King of the land.
Yet that reality doesn't absolve us from the responsibility to live as light in this world. I can't show you a specific text that commands believers, "Thou shalt vote!" but I can point you to a number of texts that speak to a stewardship principle inherent in our time on this earth. For example, Psalm 33.12 says, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD." Psalm 9.7-8, 17 warns about "nations that forget God." Proverbs 14.34 declares, "Righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a disgrace..." In the Lord's prayer in Matthew 7.9-10, Jesus implores that the Father's will would be accomplished "on earth as it is in heaven." Jesus admonished his disciples to "give to Ceaser what is Ceaser's and to God what is God's" (Matthew 22.17-21) and Paul told the Romans "there is no authority except that which God has established" (Romans 13.1-2, 6-7).
All that said, our real citizenship lies in heaven and as citizens of heaven, it should influence our citizenship stewardship during our time on this earth.
I hope the following words from Howard Norton stick with you as you consider your citizenship stewardship:
"Every presidential election is important. So is every other election of public officials. So is every election that creates public policy. We are part of the very few in world history who have had the opportunity to exercise a significant amount of influence in determining the kind of nation we will live in and the caliber of the people who will lead us.
Sadly, many of us who enjoy the privileges of freedom fail to fulfill that responsibility for making careful choices at the polling booth concerning the people and policies that, to some extent, will determine the quality and even the direction of our lives.
In a letter from Joe Seay of Greenbrier, Arkansas to the editor of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, published October 3, 2000, Mr. Seay reports that results of an unnamed poll showing that '75% of people who consider themselves to be Christians did not vote in the last general election and 81% of those who consider themselves evangelical Christians did not vote.' Then he says, 'Now I understand how ungodly people have seized control of our nation: 75-81% of the people who call themselves Christians didn't even vote. They stayed home at election time and, by doing so, gave control of our nation to ungodly leaders" (Howard Norton. "How Should Christians Vote?" The Arkansas Christian Herald. November, 2000, p. 4).
So I encourage you to vote today. The greatest issue in every election, for the born-again believer in Jesus and citizen of heaven is not taxes, social security, foreign policy or partisan loyalty. The greatest issue is who will represent the will and character of Almighty God!
