Let me tell you about the worst day of my World Race.
It started out with my teammate waking up crying. She complained that her entire body hurt so we made the decision to rush her to the hospital. Our tuk tuk driver drove like speed racer to the hospital, bouncing over speed bump after speed bump while we prayed to God that sweet Mallorie didn’t lose her breakfast along the way.
While I argued with the doctor that she did not just have a common cold but something more serious, the Indian government decided that their most common bills were no longer valid. Imagine if you woke up one morning to learn that all your $20 were worthless. That’s exactly what happened to us. The night before, the government declared that all 500 and 1000 rupee bills were no longer of use.
So here we were, sitting in the hospital listening to a doctor tell us that our sweet teammate did indeed have a serious case of dengue fever, having absolutely no money to pay for anything – including our food and lodging – when I got a text that we had a new president.
Not going to lie, fear immediately set in. Not so much for the results, but for the reactions of my fellow Americans. Facebook immediately confirmed my fears.
But let me tell you a little secret.
Jesus still won. He wasn’t in the race. You couldn’t check His name on the ballot. He didn’t give a speech. But he’s always victorious and he’s exactly where our hope lies. As christians, we know that our hope has never lied with the outcome of an election.
This year’s election reminded me of a story in the Bible.
Jesus teaches the Pharisees a lesson when they come to Him asking if the imperial tax is just or not. Jesus replies with a simple question.
“Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
It’s important that we remember this. This earthly home is only temporary. And it’s our duty to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s. Right now that looks like respecting our president-elect, praying for his well being and wishing him the best of luck in commanding our country.
It’s also our duty to give to Christ what is Christ.
So if you were one of the many (read all) Americans who sat worrying about how their future may look depending on the outcome of the election, remember that Christ already won. All we have to do is stand in that victory and rejoice
