It’s over. The mid-term elections have concluded—except for the usual sour grapes, runoffs, irregularities, posturing, vows to recount, to run again, to stay in the fight. There was the thunderstorm. A guy died. Oprah showed up. We spent $16.7 billion dollars.

On Monday the White House urged us to be patient: “It takes time to count all legitimate ballots in a legal and orderly manner.” Adding for good measure, “That’s how this is supposed to work.”

Yes, well.

I’m glad we have computers and scanners to assist us with how many votes we have, and how many we need, over the course of the coming days. Before, we had to wait until midnight on Election Day to find out who won.

So even though it’s early as I write to you—“We may not know all the winners of elections for a few days,” the White House says—the die is cast for the next two years. There was no Red Wave, no mandate, no absolute power granted, no return to saner times, no unified outcome.

If you are politically Conservative, you are disillusioned: “A reasonably intelligent fifth-grader could have mounted a more cohesive campaign,” you declare to your spouse. “Republican strategist is an oxymoron. I swear! These Blue doofuses are destroying democracy.”

If you are politically Liberal, you are relieved the Red Wave was only a ripple. “Donald Trump is pathological!” you say to your spouse. “I’ve said it for years. How could the Right be so, so… so deplorable? I swear! These Right-wingnuts are destroying democracy.”

Whatever your political persuasion, after you’ve vented to your spouse, you shake your head: Good gosh. What now? you ponder.

I have two thoughts for your consideration.

First, your significance and importance as a human being are not determined by politicians. They tell you in their stump speeches that you matter. What they mean is that it matters to their election victory for you to vote for them.

Don’t be deceived. Having your person in power does not make you significant or your life secure. Only your relationship with God through Jesus is profound enough, powerful enough, pervasive enough to render you significant and your future secure.

Second thought: Election winners go to Washington, or the state capitol, or to city hall. Once there, we look to them for leadership.

Except this is not accurate.

The people we elect to sit in places of prominence are not our leaders. They are our representatives. They are a reflection of us.

When you look at those elected to office, you are looking in the mirror.

Our representative men and women serve us by showing us our need for God’s leadership. This is one reason Scripture instructs us to pray for those in authority. When we do so, we are using a representative of us to pray for ourselves.

What is your takeaway from the mid-terms?

Most elemental is the reminder to fall on your knees before God, repent of any self-governance, and declare, “Father God, I proclaim you King of kings and Lord of lords in my life. You are my Savior and my Life. I humble myself before you.”

This admission of position is important because it’s not possible to properly value your redemption without clear definition of your separation from God due to independence. To know thyself is challenging. To see yourself in the mirror tends to strip away any pretense.

Once considered, then continue: “Father God, I’m grateful that you redeemed me, filled me, and secured me by your mercy. I honor you. I thank you that you made me yours. Today, I look to you, not to myself. I trust you, not me. Please make me a person of redemption. Amen.”

It is true that with salvation you are made new. The old unregenerate you passed away and you became a new person in Christ. You are sanctified, justified, accepted, and redeemed.

But don’t ever forget what you were redeemed from. You can’t fully appreciate God’s mercy, grace, and forgiveness if you are unclear about what transpired with your redemption.

After recalling a long list of life apart from Christ—a list that certainly includes us all—Paul notes in 1 Corinthians 6:11, “Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”

You are right to celebrate the “were” statements affirming your new identity in Christ: You once were, but now you are.

But given the context of this passage, Paul is also emphasizing the importance of reflecting on what you were to appreciate the necessity of redemption through Jesus Christ. Reflecting and celebrating facilitate your proper valuation of what Christ did on your behalf. The adulterous woman at the well had much greater clarity about Jesus and her need for His redemption than the religious leader Nicodemus did.

As the beneficiary of God’s love through Christ, there is a significant temptation to believe yourself entitled as God’s child. Succumbing to this pitfall defrauds your spiritual endowment, breaks your heart, and misrepresents who you are and whose you are. Considering the mirror image of those who represent you is advantageous to your spiritual perspective because it combats entitlement, presumption, and pride while fostering genuine humility and gratitude.

This clarity of self is conveyed in 1 Timothy 1:12-17. As you read this passage, note that Paul uses the past tense to reflect on life as a Believer. Then, in verse 15 he switches to the present tense to reflect on his life before Christ. The compare-and-contrast Paul demonstrates generates his cataclysmic gratitude in verse 17. Here’s the passage:

12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, 13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; 14 and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. 15 It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. 16 Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

There’s nothing quite so beneficial as a good dose of reality to create and properly maintain humility, gratitude, and sincerity. You can see this in Paul’s prose. He is clear-eyed about who he was prior to Christ’s intervention in his life. He’s also forthright about the magnitude of Christ’s redemption. At the intersection of who he was and who he is, Paul states candidly—in the present tense—“I am the foremost of sinners.” His candor torpedoes his pride, keeps him honest about redemption, and clarifies that Jesus Christ is his dedicated focus.

Among folks in the grace movement, there is strong pushback when someone says, “I’m a sinner saved by grace.” I understand their opposition. They are wishing to celebrate the new person that is now part of Christ’s life—the “old things passed away” aspect of salvation. But there is potential danger in denying what they once were. As I said, the temptation to entitlement is also strong within the grace movement. Paul’s balance provides a beneficial template for each of us to employ.

In summary, as a Believer who is secured within the life of Christ, your outlook does not brighten or diminish with the mid-term outcomes.

However, it’s difficult to not be affected by election-year drama, especially when our politics are so toxic. So with the focus this election has demanded, turn the political news cycles to your benefit. Consider the men and women in office—all of them, not just the opposition party—and acknowledge that you are looking in the mirror—a mirror image that candidly, honestly demonstrates your need for Christ’s redemption.

Pray for these representatives. As you do, you pray for yourself.

Whether you look at your salvation past tense or present tense, the fundamental message is redemption. For God so loved that He gave Christ to redeem you.

Man in the Mirror