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Dear Calvary Family,

I want you to know that I love you and miss seeing so many of you. I want you to know that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. Jesus is the rock of our salvation.

Our foundation in Jesus will sustain us as we persevere through the tragedies and conflict surrounding the coronavirus. Our unity in Christ will sustain us as we ask God how we should respond to pain, anger, conflict, apathy, and confusion regarding racism, police brutality and racial tension in our world today.

Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and make every effort to act in such a way that would honor Him and draw people to Him. Our common bond in Jesus will carry us through a political season that takes every chance it gets to rip us apart. Therefore, show the love of Jesus to the least of these, to the marginalized, to the hurting and to the grieving. Let’s show the love and grace of Jesus to everyone!

This will continue to be my message for you over these next three months and in the years to come. We need to be politically engaged and active. We need to be knowledgeable about the issues and how the Word of God guides us in relation to them. We all should be registered to vote.

One resource that could be helpful to you would be the website www.myfaithvotes.org that was started by Calvary member, Sealy Yates. My Faith Votes is a non-partisan movement that calls Christians to pray, think and vote. They provide resources to help you pray, to know the platforms of several political parties, and to register to vote. They believe in four core pillars of faith which are religious freedom, the sanctity of life, strong families and marriages, and compassion and support for those in need. These are four pillars that I can get behind. 

That being said, I highly encourage you to be an issues-based human being, not a political party human being. This could be touchy but I believe there are massive problems biblically with both major political parties, including on the issue of sanctity of life. There are no easy answers. Pray about these issues. Think through the issues biblically and through the lens of Jesus’ words and way. And then lovingly act on the conviction that you receive through that prayer and thought. 

But most of all, follow the primary commands of God to love Him with all your heart, love your neighbor, and make disciples of all nations. Let that be the thing you care about most in this world. Let that be what you post most about on social media. Let that be what guides your decisions and actions each and every day of your life. Let that show you when your political preferences are sometimes contrary to the ways of Jesus and be willing to change. 

May the Lord bless you and keep you,
Eric Wakeling