Christ '08

Even here in Africa I can’t get away from the constant election coverage. Whether it’s web pages or discussions with our American friends or Africans wondering my opinion of Obama, McCain and Clinton, I just can’t escape it.

This morning I read a story on Indystar.com about campaign staffers. It seems that these people quit there jobs, which can be almost anything, to help their candidate get elected। They spend months traveling the U.S. telling people about their candidate, getting people registered to vote, making sure people vote, making phone calls (I have a parent and in-laws in Florida who were inundated with such calls.) and so on, with the hopes that it will all be worth it and their candidate will be elected.

So what’s in it for them? Well they believe in something about their candidate. They think that he or she can really make a difference and change the world and when a new president is elected he has hundreds of positions to fill in every conceivable area. There Depts. of Defense, and Agriculture and even one called the Department of the Interior (whatever that is)and more that need to be staffed.

The article made me think about some of the first campaign staffers (if I dare call them that).

Travel back with me 2000 years or so to the little nation of Israel. The people of Israel wanted change in there government. They were under Roman rule and they had spent a number of generations during there history under oppressive rule of some sort or another, but they were sure it was going to end. They knew one day a great leader would arise, a leader who would give them hope and a future. He would become king and rule with great authority. They saw the Messiah as a politician.

So this is the background that Christ entered into. His Disciples where sure he was going to overthrow Caesar and kick the Romans out, and that when He finally set up His kingdom they would rule beside Him because they had helped him from early on. It here that the story of Matthew 20:20-28 takes place.

The mom of 2 of Jesus’ disciples brings her boys up to Jesus and says basically “When you become king let my boys be your right and left hand men.” To which Jesus replied “I am not like all the rest of the people out there. If you want to be great in my Kingdom, you must be a slave to all.”

Can you picture it here these disciples are, they quit their jobs, there going around the country with this man that they know is going to be king someday and their hopes are that they will be rewarded and be big men at the Temple Gates when Jesus drops the bomb shell that greatness wasn’t going to be a cushy corner office with all national holidays off, but rather the lowering yourself to a point where you considered yourself below everyone else.
I can’t see many campaign staffers today sticking around long if there candidate tells them, “Oh by the way, after I’m elected, I’m going to need you to be the official pooper scooper for my dog Mickey.”

But these disciples of Christ kept following, watched there “Candidate” die, arise again leave them and they stilled kept on abiding by his words of being slaves to all. They where imprisoned, boiled alive, and even killed because they got a glimpse of the Kingdom.

One campaign staffer said something to the effect of “I do this because, this might be the only time in my life that someone like this comes along and I don’t want to waste the opportunity.”

It got me thinking about my own life and what it means to be on God’s campaign trail. Jesus is our once in a lifetime candidate. I don’t know how much time I have to get the word out and I know that he has already changed the world and he’ll change anyones life who allows him to be there King.

The great thing is that Jesus has already won and there are still positions open on his staff.