Wrangler Dani

So begins of my favorite Church of Christ stand-bys:

“There’s a stirring/deep within me/could it be my time has come/when I see my gracious Savior/face to face when all is done/is that His voice I am hearing?/Come away, my precious one?/is He calling me?/is He calling me?”

I haven’t been able to write here lately, because it feels so very trivial. Even before the Election, I have been disappointed in the American people, frustrated by a political and mass media machine that I believe has led us to this place. We’ve lifted our comfort and popularity and security up as Higher Gods, forsaking the one who actually clothes the lilies of the field. We’re more concerned with how we’re perceived then with doing what is right, and we’re elated with ourselves for tiny successes when larger battles are lost all around us – but we don’t care. We don’t care because we like being comfortable, and we like our convenient shoebox-sized God, and we like the idea that we will be liked, cared for and changed, without our having to do much at all but show up on Election Day.

I confess that I have fallen in this same murky faith. I like believing that God is on my side, rather than concerning myself whether or not I am on His. I like my Friday lattes, shopping trips and knowing that I have a well-stocked cupboard at home. I like being liked, rather than known as the crazy Conservative.

But I can’t. I know I am called to more. I know we, as people of faith, are called to more. I believe that we serve a God who holds the world in His hands, who set the stars in their places and gives rulers and presidents their seats and who also (oh, Grace!) cares infinitely about each of us. I believe that we are headed for a bleak time in this country, but I also believe that God knows much better than I do where we’re going and why.

Either I can put my faith in that or not. Either I really believe that or not. Either He is or is not the King of Kings. The song crescendos with these powerful words:

“I will rise up/rise up/and I’ll bow down/lay my crown/at his precious, wounded feet”

So today I will rise. I will remember that God is faithful. I will answer with honesty and love when asked what I believe. I will rise up to this challenge, knowing that in this culture, my views are not popular, and my God is considered too small and demeaning. But we know the truth, and the truth will set us free.