How John chapter One has shaped my views on politics.

 Let me say this right up front. I intend to vote in elections and hope that everyone else does also. However, my views of politics have changed and that is what I'm addressing in this blogpost. 

John 1:10-13 :  10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God — 13 children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God.

The "he's" and "him's" of these verses are talking about Jesus.  John chapter 1 has played an important role in my life for a few decades now.  I'm highlighting these four verses today as they point out a choange in my point of view and I would like to pass that along. 

Verse 10 deals with Jesus' relationship with the world (non Jewish people). Although he created them (including the Roman Empire), they had no ideal who Jesus was. They went about their way using the Greco-Roman gods to promote sexual (as well as every kind) pleasure.  They also set up temples to worship the people that ruled them.  To me, this lifestyle is very similar to the Liberal Left in our country.

Verse 11 deals with Jesus' relationship with the Jewish people. When we think or read about Israel or Jewish people, we think of a nation like ourselves, but Israel was and is different. The Jewish people are not only a nation, but also a family. They have all descended from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob/Israel.  The twelve tribes of Israel, are the 12 sons of Jacob/Israel and their descendants. When it says that they did not receive him, they are speaking of a family not receiving one of their own family members. 

So why would they not receive him? The Jewish people were MIGA (Make Israel Great Again) people. They were lookiing for a descendant of King David that would come and defeat the Romans and re establish Israel as a world power forever. This is what they got from reading and studying the (what we call) Old Testament. Jesus provided something else. He was about giving people the right to  become children of God — children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God.

So what I get from all of this is  that instead of getting heavily involved in the election, like a lot of Christians are doing; we need to be promoting the right that Jesus gives all people - the right to become children of God. An election at best can force people to act like they are children of God, but acting is not becoming. If people actually become children of God, then election results will not matter, and in the end, there will be things a lot more important than the way that we vote, like - did our actions attract people to or repel people from Christ.