Christmas Citizenship

I’ve often pointed out in my Christmas sermons that the Incarnation and birth of Jesus Christ revolutionized politics.

Remember, the pagan view of politics is that “the law flows from the mouth of the King.” On any day, that one man could get up out of bed in the morning and issue a decree into which the people had no input and against which they had no recourse.

Jesus warned that among the Gentiles, their leaders “lord it over them, and their great ones make their importance felt” (Mark 10:42).

But he then went on to say that “it cannot be that way among you,” and he taught that among Christians, authority and power mean humble service.

Why?

Because the people who are under the authority of presidents, governors and judges are in fact sons and daughters of the King of Kings and Judge of the world.

We have access to God and are sharers in his very nature (2 Peter 1:4), thanks to the fact that God took on our nature in Christ. That’s the mystery and meaning of Christmas.

And that’s the foundation of our Founders’ assertion, in our Declaration of Independence, that governments “derive their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

The law does not come from the mouth of the king. It comes from the mouths of the people. It comes from the will of the sons and daughters of the King of Kings.

Our Founders were determined, with every assertion they made in the Declaration, and with every carefully crafted provision they placed in the Constitution, to minimize the chances of tyranny.

And it’s Christmas that strikes at the heart of tyranny. God does not oppress His people; he exalts them. He raises us to his very throne, seating us in the heavenly places with Christ (Eph. 2:6-7).

We rejoice, therefore, in advocating a Christian form of government. The best way to express our gratitude for this gift is to exercise the power of our citizenship, our sovereignty as a people under God, not only through the votes we cast in elections, but in the lobbying we can do every day.

Let your voices be heard by all whom you have helped elect. After all, they will be hearing from a son, a daughter, of God.