Restraining Worldly Expectations
But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified. (John 17:13–19)
Exactly forty years ago today, two things happened: 1) Reagan won re-election in the second largest landslide in modern American history; 2) I was born. So a conceivable argument could be made that I am responsible for the current level of political disunity in the America. Joking aside, there is a lot being said about the disunity in America today compared to half a lifetime ago when Reagan won 525 of 538 electoral votes. There are no doubt some very good reasons for it, but I am not so worried about the divisions. More concerning to me are the expectations behind them. Each side is saying that a vote the other way will doom this country. The expectation is that an ultimate political solution is possible in a fallen world.
I caution against such expectations, no matter your affiliation. There is much futility in placing weight in worldly expectations. The Jews in Jesus’s lifetime, through the lens of oppression under the thumb of Roman rule, had expectations for a Messiah. They expected a warrior king, with the ability to drive the Romans out of the promised land, restoring Israel to the glory of David and Solomon. They assigned political hopes and aspirations to God’s plan, and no doubt prayed for it to occur as they saw fit. Jesus, the Christ, was a far cry from their expectations and so much more, but they were too focused on their version of salvation that many missed God’s grand and holy work.
Furthermore, our emphasis should not be on national unity, despite the relief it would provide our political discourse. The unity we must seek is with God. Jesus’s prayer for us on his last night, was for us to experience the same unity with God that he enjoys. A unity that is literally out of this world, elevating us spiritually, though we stay here physically. He prays for us to experience holy joy from that union and let it bear witness to the glory of God. Imagine what that witness can accomplish compared to campaign promises.
If you let Washington DC determine your expectations, you risk putting some weight to salvation being found in this world. I advise you to raise your gaze far above the Washington Monument, and set expectations that are not of this world. Then, in union with God through Christ, his light will accomplish more than any ballot.
Your brother in Christ,
Thomas Goodrich