Quote of the Day

Well, Lord, tomorrow I vote...
And I was wondering,
if YOU were a candidate - would you be elected?

If you were running for office, Lord,
I know how you'd campaign:
fully, freely, with forgiveness...

I'd know your agenda:
a preferential love
for the defenseless innocent,
the poor, the marginalized, the stranger,
the victims of power, selfishness and arrogance...

I'd know your strategy:
deposing the mighty, lifting up the lowly,
filling the hungry, sending the rich away empty...

I'd know your platform:
law founded in truth...
justice tempered with mercy,
freedom bound by responsibility...

And I'd know your campaign promises:
life for those who reverence it,
peace for those who cultivate it,
pardon for those who forgive...

But since you won't be on the ballot, Lord,
be with me as I prepare to vote...

I offer you my heart:
inscribe there the truth of your word
in letters gospel-bold enough
for me to clearly see...

I offer you my mind, Lord:
bathe my thoughts in wisdom
ever ancient, ever new
and show me wisdom's way...

I offer you my will, Lord:
bend it, shape it, mold it
with the power of your grace,
conform it to your heart's desire...

I offer you my vote, Lord:
may it be a good decision, speak a just word,
hasten your reign of peace
and bring light and life for all...

I offer you all this, Lord,
and ask, in return, for the gift of your Spirit
to counsel and guide me...

Amen.

--Monday Morning Offering XIX
The ConcordPastor
3 November 2008

PHOTO: Getty(2,4); AP/Paul Sancya(3)

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