Written by: David Hood

Photo by Nour Abiad

Politics is front and centre in a lot of our conversations these days and sometimes it can feel apocalyptic. As we look to April 28 and ponder the future of our nation and the world, it is good for those of us who are followers of King Jesus, to remember a few key things.

When Jesus was questioned by a Roman governor about whether or not He was a king, He answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight…But now my kingdom is from another place”(John 18:36). Jesus is a king, but not in the way we often think of kings. In brief, our world is a mess because we’ve rebelled against the rightful, righteous rule of God in our lives. Jesus came to undo the effects of our rebellion and restore us and our world to God; to bring everything back under the rightful, righteous rule of God; to usher in the Kingdom of God (Mark 1:14-15). He did this by living the life we should have lived, sacrificing Himself for our rebellion, and resurrecting from the dead, overcoming all of the brokenness of the universe. Jesus has been crowned the King of the Kingdom of God whose inbreaking He initiated (Philippians 2:5-11). He now invites us to follow Him, that He might make us new and through us make all things new. As Christians, our ultimate allegiance is to King Jesus and our ultimate citizenship is in His Kingdom (Philippians 3:20). Jesus’ Kingdom (the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven), His loving and restorative rule, has no borders, no capital, and no armies. It is acknowledged in our hearts, submitted to with our lives, and advanced by the Holy Spirit through our prayer, worship, proclamation, testimony, and good works. It breaks into our world from the outside and transforms it. It isn’t made with human hands. And it will outlast all other kingdoms, vanquish all evil, and restore everything.

What does this mean for us right now?

– Regardless of who becomes our next Prime Minister, or who sits in any other office in any other nation, Jesus Christ is the King of kings and Lord of lords. All authority in heaven and on earth is His (Matthew 28:18). All human authority is delegated authority. It is not absolute. Jesus can give and Jesus can take away, and no leader or ruler or king or judge can ultimately thwart His plans and purposes. No one can invade His Kingdom and topple His throne.
– There is no one leader or party or platform that represents the Kingdom of God (as Tim Keller once said, Christianity is the best of the left and the best of the right and something else entirely). There is no one leader or party or platform that is synonymous with the Kingdom of God. There is no nation that can claim to be the Kingdom of God on earth (or the New Jerusalem or a city on a hill) or claim to be necessary for the preservation or success or advancement of the Kingdom of God. There is no nation whose downfall signals the end or the defeat of the Kingdom of God. Many nations and kingdoms and empires have come and gone, the Kingdom of God endures.
– The Kingdom of God does not require a favourable political climate or rulers and judges to flourish. It does not need political or legal protection or reinforcement. The love and rule of King Jesus will invade and lay claim to human hearts regardless of who thinks they’re in charge of anything and often it is in the most oppressive places that the Kingdom of God thrives.
– The Kingdom of God cannot be achieved through political means, and certainly not through military might or violent revolution. Good government matters and voting matters as an act of neighbour-love and for the common good but politics does not bring about the Kingdom of God. The Holy Spirit working through the gospel brings about the Kingdom.
– Human government is limited in what it can accomplish (it can’t change hearts), and all leaders and all parties will err and break promises and disappoint us, and some will become self-serving and oppressive, but Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). He never has and never will break any of His promises and He will not fail (2 Corinthians 1:19-20). He is our ultimate hope. He is who we need. And if we have Him, we have everything.
– We will not all agree on who has the best ideas or the best way to address housing unaffordability, food insecurity, healthcare, education, climate issues, immigration, mental health, addictions, racism, injustices committed against first-nations peoples, the criminal justice system, foreign conflicts, and humanitarian aid, or even the best way to push back on the culture of death (abortion, MAiD) and promote life. We need to care and we should care because we can’t love our neighbours without caring about what affects them (Matthew 22:36-40), but we won’t see eye to eye on everything. We will disagree and we can even disagree passionately, but politics is not what unites us, and politics is not our mission, and politics should not be a test of fellowship or faithfulness (Ephesians 4:1-6).
– Regardless of who is in power anywhere or what kind of regime we live under, our mandate remains the same: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbour as yourself (Matthew 22:36-40). Build your life on all of the teachings of Jesus. Follow Him (Matthew 7:24-27). Go into all the world and make disciples, baptize them, and teach them to obey all that Jesus has commanded (Matthew 28:18-20). Witness for Him (Acts 1:8). We can do these things anywhere and under any circumstances. We can do these things whether we have a government that values Christianity or a government that makes it illegal and tries to wipe it out. We can do these things whether we have a place of prominence in the public square or we’re treated with derision and ostracized and marginalized. We do not need laws or policies or the approval and support of Parliament Hill, the House of Commons, Queen’s Park, the Constitution, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, or the Supreme Court. Governments can hinder Christians and cause us to have to adapt and suffer to follow the way of Jesus, but they can’t stop the gospel.

My friends, Don’t be afraid. Don’t be anxious. Don’t despair. Don’t be addicted to worldly power. Don’t think you need anything in this world. Don’t compromise. Don’t give up hope. Don’t stop showing up and being who Jesus wants you to be and doing what Jesus wants you to do. It will not be in vain. Politics matters, but it isn’t everything. We live for a far greater Kingdom.

Psalm 20:7-8 “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.”

Isaiah 40:21-24 “Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded? He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.”

Isaiah 46:9-10 “I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and no one is like Me. I declare the end from the beginning, and from long ago what is not yet done, saying: My plan will take place, and I will do all My will.”

Matthew 16:18 “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

Matthew 6:25-34 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Romans 8:31-39 “If God is for us, who is against us? He did not even spare His own Son but offered Him up for us all; how will He not also with Him grant us everything? 33 Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect? God is the One who justifies. 34 Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the One who died, but even more, has been raised; He also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us. 35 Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or anguish or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: Because of You we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered. 37 No, in all these things we are more than victorious through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that not even death or life, angels or rulers, things present or things to come, hostile powers, 39 height or depth, or any other created thing will have the power to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!

Revelation 21:1-4 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea no longer existed. 2 I also saw the Holy City, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.

3 Then I heard a loud voice from the throne:

‘Look! God’s dwelling is with humanity,
and He will live with them.
They will be His people,
and God Himself will be with them
and be their God.
4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
Death will no longer exist;
grief, crying, and pain will exist no longer,
because the previous things have passed away.’”