Whether you love him or hate him, voted for him or couldn’t be paid to, currently worried to death or think you won the Presidential lottery, Donald Trump is going to be the next President of the United States. So what do the next four years mean for a Christian? Honestly, not a whole lot if we’re counting on Washington to make the positive, eternal changes in this world. Instead, here’s a few ways you and your church can:
Offer free cooking, sewing, crocheting, knitting, or quilting classes. Use what you make to bless those within your congregation and community.
Have game nights and invite the teens and the seniors. Build teams with people from each group.
Start a community book club.
Invite an elderly person in your congregation to share their journey to Christ and some wisdom for the next generation, while being recorded. Share it with your congregation.
Ask your local schools how you can be a blessing to their students (offer to pay lunches, provide supplies, help with a homework program).
Open a free food or clothing pantry.
Offer your gifts and talents to your church in a way that will bless those around you. Share the gospel and then go be the gospel.
What’s so beautifully powerful about the good news is that the God of Heaven and Earth, the originator of love and life, the alpha and omega came to earth as a baby. He, not only identified as one of us, he became one of us and in doing so, gave us worth. What if his disciples continued that plan of action? What if the church got out of our buildings and into our communities? What if we identified with the poor single mothers, the fatherless young men,the frustrated parents, the lonely, the misunderstood, the abandoned, the addicts, the misfits? Maybe then, the scared, pregnant, young woman would run to us instead of the abortion clinic. Or the young, gay man would seek a kind, listening ear in the church instead of considering suicide. Or the immigrant or Muslim family would find lifelong friends among
Christians.
The greatest impact of the next four years will be a result of good relationships not legislation. And before we panic or celebrate what’s happening in the White House, we need to remember that Donald Trump will do what past Commander in Chief’s have being doing for ages. He will remind Jesus followers (whether in word, deed, or the absence of both) that this world is not our home, he is not our Savior, and Christ’s policies to love God and love others outweigh anything that will ever come out of Washington. Our hope gave his life on Calvary Hill and can never be taken away because of a vote on Capitol Hill. And regardless of how much we believe or don’t believe in the political process, love can never be legislated.
What does a new presidency mean for you? If you’re willing to take your eyes off Washington, set your mind on Christ, and commit yourself to his church and then to your community, it means hope.
Paula Harrington is the mother of five children and grandmother of one. She and her husband, John, reside in Calvert City. She is compiler and editor of the books, Once Upon a Bible Class, A Common Bond and A Sunday Afternoon with the Preachers’ Wives. Her work has appeared in Christian Woman magazine, the Christian Chronicle newspaper and numerous other sites and websites. When she’s not teaching at one of Marshall County’s finest schools, she’s helping her family at the Calvert Drive-in Theater (and by helping, she means eating the cheeseburgers). She can be contacted
at harringtonseven@yahoo.com