Inaugurations promise new and fresh starts. So, it is with the second inauguration of President Donald Trump. Many welcome this new beginning, but by no means do all! Some, whom I love, greet this beginning with anger, fear, and worry. They ask, “What will begin?” Will it be revenge, injustice, and a demand for personal loyalty to a prideful man? Yet, many, whom I also love, are excited to be done with the past four years, and long for the return to values they believe have been openly despised.
I will not take partisan sides. It’s not that I don’t care, but rather that I see that hyper-partisan divisions have damaged and continue to damage not only our nation, but also the body of our Messiah. I believe that public partisanship by disciples of Jesus is not only divisive, but it also weakens our witness to our primary loyalty to the Messiah, Jesus, and His Kingdom. That is a loyalty to the Kingdom which supersedes all national boundaries and parties. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t speak out for justice and caring, but that these qualities are neither Republican nor Democrat qualities. Rather, they flow from God, through His people. Disagree if you wish, and I know many will, but this is where I stand.
What I would far rather do, in this space, is filter any ideas of a new beginning (greeted with either hope or fear) through the Biblical witness. It is not my aim to either calm fears or dampen hope. Rather, it is my purpose to hear the Biblical witness for such moments. Experience has shown me that political new beginnings can soon become old. Promises of an age so golden that we all sing “Happy Days are Here, Again,” may quickly run into the realities of a sinful, prideful, partisanship, that turns gold into lead.
Part of that witness is that even in the bleakest times, God, not politicians, brings newness.
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.” (Lamentations 3:22-24, NIV)
Newness is a daily grace, and that grace is sufficient, whatever our thorns may be!
We live both in the now and in the not yet. Today’s grace of newness points forward to eternal newness:
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5:16-17, NIV)
Literally, the Greek reads, “If anyone is in Christ, new creation!” Although the old order persists, the new creation has begun, and the eternal newness for which we wait will be God’s doing in God’s time.
The final image of the new creation is found in Revelation 21. It is not an image of newness up, far away, in heaven, although it is often portrayed that way. It is rather one in which the new Jerusalem comes down to earth, yes, this earth. We long for political new days that promise to end injustice, oppression, and suffering to last, but they never do. Here are the sweeping promises in Revelation 21.
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’[Isaiah 25:8] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
In the end, both hope and fear must surrender to God’s good future. For, this, and no other, is the new beginning for which we long.
Tim