….. seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.
Jeremiah 29:7
Dear Friends,
Welcome to our new website and the start of what will hopefully be an engaging and thought-provoking blog.
It seems we can’t get away from it. The nation is facing another General Election and everywhere we turn it would appear it is being talked about. To prove it you only have to look at our church website and see the minister blogging about it!
At this time church leaders are talking up the election and encouraging their congregations to go to the polls and make their vote count. Democracy is an important foundation of the culture in the UK. Democracy is participatory and encourages everyone to get involved in the process of how our nation will be run in the years ahead.
I want to ask the question why should Christians vote?
Many people feel disillusioned by the current political process, bored, taken advantage of uninspired, helpless to effect change. The list could go on. There are many reasons Christians should participate in the political process of our nation and if we read the Bible verse above we see one of the foundational reasons for it.
The above verse is part of a letter sent from the prophet Jeremiah to the Israelite people who found themselves living in an alien culture, far from home, disillusioned, disorientated and disappointed by the circumstances they now found themselves in.
Jeremiah doesn’t call them to retreat into a ghetto and baton down the hatches he tells them to seek the prosperity of the city, to get involved in the life of the city to participate in its affairs.
God is interested in life and in bringing hope into the lives of ordinary people. One of the ways he does this is to use his people as carriers of his message and doers of his word i.e. his church.
I believe the call of the church today is to be involved in the life of our nation, to speak words of hope and to be bringers of life and vision to a country that in many ways has lost its way.
We are called to help the vulnerable and the exploited, to be the voice of the voiceless and to seek peace and prosperity. Voting for the party that seeks to bring these things to bear on our world is one way we can do this.
I would encourage you to take further your privilege and engage in the democratic process. Discover what the parties stand for, go to hustings, ask questions, talk to people, listen and pray for wisdom.
May you know the true freedom that Christ brings and may you seek the peace and prosperity of your town.
Shalom,
Geoff.
