ELECTION REFLECTION – 2020
October 28
Q. 100. What doth the preface of the Lord's prayer teach us?
A. The preface of the Lord's prayer, which is, “Our Father which art in heaven”, teacheth us to draw near to God with all holy reverence and confidence, as children to a father able and ready to help us; and that we should pray with and for others.
Q. 101. What do we pray for in the first petition?
A. In the first petition, which is, “Hallowed be thy name”, we pray that God would enable us and others to glorify him in all that whereby he maketh himself known; and that he would dispose all things to his own glory.
Reflection:
Our Father…who is the creator of the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.
Our Father…who reigns in heaven as a three-in-one Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Our Father…who sent his only son to live a human life as a man, being subject to the same pressures to sin as we are, but lived a perfect life and gave his life to crucifixion on the cross, as a perfect sacrifice redeeming us from the penalty of the sins we commit and were born into, and purchasing for us an inheritance of the heavenly kingdom he now inhabits at the right hand of the Father.
This is the Father to whom we are allowed to draw near with all holy reverence, and address with our petitions with the confidence that He is ready and able to help us and work all things to his own glory. He is a true, loving and perfect father who wants to hear from our hearts, and will not give us a stone when we ask for bread. He also calls us to love and pray for others, including our enemies, and for kings and those in authority – or may soon be – that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. And He calls us to love and pray for all the saints – which includes our brothers and sisters in the church, some of whom may vote differently than us.
His name is hallowed when we walk in his ways. The Holy Spirit enables us to love, and this conspicuous love is what will bring glory to God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ. This conspicuous love has the power to make known the Father’s ways on the earth, and among all people.
His name is hallowed because He made us – we do not get to “make” him, or form him into our own design. “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11:34-36)
Beloved, Heaven is the kingdom where our true citizenship lies. Jesus Christ is the king who reigns there and does not need to be elected. We are aliens and sojourners in this world. May our love and behavior cause us to be agents of hope to others, especially those who may see this as a divisive political season.
May our God enable us this week, to glorify Him, and may he use us in ways that bring attention to the love of Christ and our love for each other, so that the world may know him.
Elder Dave Werner