Jeremy Corbyn, Labour’s new leader-Demon or Messiah?

Jeremy Corbyn, Labour’s new leader-Demon or Messiah? 

He's neither but this is why I voted for him

  I was not originally going to vote for Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader. I was going to vote for Andy Burnham. A much safer bet I thought.  Jeremy was just the wrong type of leader , who couldn't possibly win a general election. He was too old, too scruffy, hadn’t gone to the right university and had the wrong track record as a rebel rather than a front bencher. Most of all he was too extreme and controversial. On Facebook I publicly endorsed this widely shared view of Jeremy Corbyn. Yet when I thought and prayed about it I realised I'd been looking at it all the wrong way. It was when I tried to look at it from God’s perspective,  a biblical perspective, that I had my Damascus road type conversion. I realised to my surprise that Jeremy was the right choice, because e he was the one who best fits what God requires of a leader (and indeed of all of us): “…and what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6 v 8

 Let's be clear. Whilst Jeremy Corbyn may share his initials, as a Christian I believe Jesus Christ is the only true Messiah. I also believe He will one day return earth to bring true and lasting peace, prosperity and justice for the poor and for all. In the mean time we have to settle for mere fallible men as our leaders. Yet as a Christian I believe in choosing a leader you need to assess how both their character and message measure up against the big JC. They will all fall short of course. However, I found to my surprise that Jeremy Corbyn ,despite professing no faith in Him, best matched both Christ's character and message.

And I found some surprising parallels between the two.

An unlikely leader

 Both men seemed unlikely leaders. Both were apparently "the wrong sort." Jeremy is too old, had the wrong experience, the wrong education , from the wrong wing of the  party, etc., etc. But Jesus's background would also have marked him out as "the wrong sort" to be a leader. He was untrained and inexperienced as a teacher- not schooled as a rabbi and with the wrong background; an illegitimate son of a simple carpenter from Nazareth. As one of his critics said, can anything good come from there? Interestingly, being the “wrong sort” is something they seem to share with most of the greatest leaders in the bible God chose. Abraham, father of the Jewish nation, only started to father the nation in his 90s. Moses, the founder of the Jewish nation and religion, led the Jews from Egyptian slavery towards the promised land. But when he was an old man of 80 with a criminal record as a murderer and a phobia of public speaking. One of Israel's great ruler- judges Gideon, who led them to victory against the much stronger Midianites, was from the least clan from the least tribe and was excessively cautious. David, the greatest King in Israel's history, when chosen as King was too young surely. Wouldn’t his bigger, older brothers have been the more obvious choice? And Paul, the great evangelist of the early church, started out as one of its greatest persecutors. In fact, very often it is the people who in human eyes seem the least likely sort to be leaders are in fact the right sort in God’s eyes . “People look at outward appearances, but the Lord looks at the heart”. 1 Samuel 16 v 7

A heart for the poor and needy

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” Proverbs 31 v 8/9

 When it comes to the heart there is something else that that Jesus shares with Jeremy Corbyn;  a heart for the poor and needy. Jesus saw his mission particularly to “bring good news to the poor” (both spiritually and materially). (Luke 4 v 18). He reached out to heal and help them. He saw himself as very much on side of poor and expected his followers to put that heart for the poor and needy into action. He challenged his followers to give generously to the poor. A mark of his true followers was to be how they helped the poor and needy and a mark of those who were not was how they ignored them (Matthew  25 v 34-36).  Jeremy Corbyn  as a politician makes it very much his own mission to support the poor and needy. For example, speaking out against welfare changes  that have doing such great harm done to poor and needy in our country and speaking out for the plight of refugees.

A peacemaker who mixed with sinners

“…blessed are the peacemakers…” (Matthew  5 v 9)

 Jesus was the ultimate peacemaker, reconciling men and God through his crucifixion and in his earthly mission he demonstrated this by reaching out to reconcile those considered to be beyond society’s pale, “the sinners” such as prostitutes and tax collectors. Indeed he was much criticised by the establishment for even eating with such outcasts.  He also spoke out against armed violence “Those who live by the sword will died by the sword,” he warned Peter. His was a peaceful revolution of heart and mind. You will also hear much criticism of Jeremy Corbyn for having associated with his own “sinners” like palestinian terrorist groups. Yet he has done so only in order to try to bring reconciliation and peace. Indeed, Jeremy Corbyn  has strongly spoken out against the use of violent force in Iraq and elsewhere and instead encouraged more peaceful means of resolving conflicts.

Of good character

“Now a leader must be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.”  1 Timothy 3 v 2/3

  It’s rather difficult to compete with Jesus over “good character” as he was and is the perfect, sinless son of God. However, good character is very important in a leader and Jeremy Corbyn exemplifies  key points of good character that the bible says should be looked for in a leader. He is indeed temperate, gentle and self-controlled in his speech and does not do “personal” sniping and insults(but sticks to the issues). Anyone who has met him even if they strongly disagree with him speaks about how “nice” and decent he is, for example offering to share his sandwiches with them  on the train. He is able to communicate a clear message. Far from being a drunkard he is teetotal (and a vegetarian). He is certainly not a lover of money. He is no champagne socialist but lives quite simply, wearing ordinary (sometimes slightly scruffy) clothes. With no flash car, he rides a bike and uses public transport. He generally makes the lowest expenses claims of all MPs.  Most importantly, there is no hint that he is open to any sort of bribe.  (“By justice a king gives a country stability, but one who is greedy for bribes tears it down.” Proverbs 29 v 4)

The Humility of the Servant King

  Humility is too often devalued as a leadership quality, but it should be a key part of the character looked for in a leader. This was exemplified in Jesus, “ who, being in very nature God, did not  consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant …he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death- even death on a cross.” Philippians 2 v 6-8.  Like Jesus Jeremy Corbyn does not seek leadership for his own personal advantage but only to fulfil a mission for the good of others. If he wanted to grasp at personal advancement he would not have spent over 30 years as a backbencher, speaking up for often unfashionable causes. As the Servant King Jesus rode into Jerusalem not on chariot or mighty steed but on a humble donkey. I guess Jeremy Corbyn as new Labour leader will enter Westminster on his push bike.

A different style

  Jesus spoke the truth straightforwardly and honestly, in a language ordinary people understood (including his use of parables), yet with real conviction and authority. Many remarked on Jesus’s teaching being different in style to the teachers they were used to. Jeremy Corbyn  too has a very different style of speaking to his contemporaries;  straightfoward  and direct, answering not avoiding questions. He says what he believes and speaks from the heart,  rather than using use the spin and soundbites favoured by his rivals and avoiding  personal sniping. Many find his style a breath of fresh air, just as Jesus’s hearers did.

Challenging the rich and powerful establishment

  Jesus was no respecter of the rich and powerful and was prepared to challenge them directly. Jesus warned “woe to you rich”, who would find it very hard to get into his kingdom and he often encouraged them often to give away their wealth.  He tackled head on the hypocrisy of the religious establishment- the Pharisees and Sadducees, speaking out against them - “woe to you Pharisees.” Jeremy Corbyn too challenges the establishment, the vested interests of the rich and powerful, who have grown ever more so on the backs of poor and ordinary folk.

Challenging orthodox beliefs

  Hand in hand with his challenge to the establishment of his day, Jesus’ message challenged the orthodox beliefs and attitudes of  the Jewish religious establishment,  Sadducees and even Pharisees (who shared some key beliefs with him) . He spoke out against their excessive legalism, ritual and judgmentalism, and their lack of compassion;  too much love of money & status and too little love for God  and men. Jesus’ message in word and deed was like a “new wine”. It was and is a message of love, compassion, reconciliation and forgiveness that crossed national boundaries , extending even to the Jews’  bitterest enemies- the Romans and Samaritans (“love your enemies”, “turn the other cheek”). His was and is the supreme message of hope through grace. Jeremy Corbyn’s message is  also very much at odds with our current political establishment, both Tory and New Labour. It is, as he says,  a kinder politics that takes pity on the poor and refugees, that rejects the orthodox  blind faith in the free market (that actually make our public services and our economy run worse not better) or unquestioning trust in austerity economics (that actually stifles growth) or in a nuclear deterrent (that actually deters no one and makes the world a more less dangerous place) and that advocates higher taxes on the rich (in order to lower the burdens on the poor, ordinary and young ) and offers real hope of a better future for all.

The phenomenon  from nowhere

  Like Jesus Jeremy Corbyn is the man who seemed to come from nowhere on a sudden popular wave. Having spent 30 years in relative obscurity, like Jesus he was suddenly thrust into limelight with crowds flocking to hear his message.

A mass appeal but rejected by the establishment

  Like Jesus, Jeremy Corbyn is a leader  with a message of apparently  mass popular appeal, but an appeal rejected by an establishment in whom he has had lots of enemies. In Jesus’ case these enemies were the Pharisees, Sadducees , scribes and teachers of law (and Satan behind them). From early on they were plotting his downfall, because he challenged what they believed and stood for. Jeremy Corbyn faces his own raft of enemies in the political establishment today, who are  very much conspiring to bring him down (starting even before he was “up”) ; the predominantly right wing press and media papers  (and even  much of the more left wing media like the Guardian), big business , the ruling Conservative politicians of course and even most current and former leading figures in his own party.

His crucifixion?

  Jesus entered Jerusalem triumphantly yet humbly on the donkey to the acclaim of the crowds praising their new leader. However, less than a week later  the establishment forces of his day had got him. The scribes  Pharisees and Sadduccees had apparently completely defeated him. It was a campaign based on lies and half truths about him and his message. Through these means they got him arrested, twisted the arm of the Roman governor to put his life to a public vote and then persuaded that public to vote for his crucifixion. Jeremy Corbyn I have no doubt is destined for his own crucifixion in the press and media with another campaign of lies and half truths. This will be spawned by a mass of establishment forces and voices who are surely bound to conspire together  to try to bring him down. The vicious campaigns launched against his predecessors Neil Kinnock and Ed Milliband will be as nothing compared to what Jeremy Corbyn will surely face. With so many voices speaking against him what chance does he have of keeping the voting public on his side?

The end result- failure or victory?

  Jesus was a man of miracles who had healed thousands of incurable diseases and had fed 5,000 with a few loaves and fishes. But his earthly ministry ended in apparent utter failure in a criminal’s death on the cross. Yet in fact his greatest miracle, his ultimate victory was achieved in and through his crucifixion.  God was working through his crucifixion to pay the price for our sins , rescue us from Satan’s  clutches and reconcile us with Himself. And he proved his victory by doing the impossible and rising from the dead and appearing to his followers .

 The forces ranged against Jeremy Corbyn are such that to me it seems to me an almost impossible task that he could overcome them and win the next general election.  This is why I was originally not going to vote for him. He has already achieved something of a political miracle in being elected labour leader as the original rank outsider. Yet to win over a whole electorate is going to be a much higher mountain to climb. The first election was like climbing Ben Nevis, which he has just conquered  very convincingly. However, his next election will be like scaling Everest. His crucifixion in the media is almost certain. By some miracle can he overcome this seeming impossibility to be victorious?  Jesus of course had the mighty power of Father God behind him and He specialises in doing the impossible. “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”  Matthew 19 v 36.

 

 Pray for victory?

 This raises an interesting question.  To my knowledge Jeremy Corbyn does not believe in Jesus. However could his supporters who do believe in Jesus pray in aid the power of the almighty to achieve the apparently impossible victory ? Does God answer those sort of prayers or does  he just leave it completely to the free will of individuals whom they vote for (and for which they must later account to Him )? After all, dreadful as I believe they are, there have been plenty of rulers far worse than our current British government. And such rulers have remained in power for many years despite earnest Christians praying against them. (Few worse than the evil emperor Nero who heavily persecuted the very earliest Christians). Yet the bible tells us that “he deposes kings and raises up others” (Daniel 2 v 21). That was certainly seen with God’s original chosen people, Israel. And there certainly were times when He raised up rulers who did not believe in Him, such as the Persian King Cyrus. But since the end of the original Jewish state does God still intervene in affairs of state like that? Some would say that He did with the later Roman emperor Constantine, who converted to Christianity and then adopted Christianity as Rome’s official religion. And many would also say that God has done that in the life of our own nation.  Most obviously He did so perhaps 75 years ago when  Winston Churchill called on the nation to pray to bring about the miracle of Dunkirk. So what about today? Certainly God could intervene. Whether and when He chooses to do so I simply don’t know. But in the knowledge that He can and the hope that He might, I for one am already praying, praying that He might deliver a seemingly impossible election victory for Jeremy Corbyn in five years’ time.  I do so because I believe the society he would help bring about as our Prime Minister, whilst still very imperfect ,will answer Jesus’s call of Matthew 25 so much better than the society we are currently becoming.  

 

Jeremy Corbyn- Messiah or Demon?

Jeremy Corbyn-  Messiah or Demon?

  Whatever you may think of Jeremy Corbyn  (views range from political Messiah to dangerous crackpot and every shade in between), you can’t help but be impressed at what he seems to be pulling off. It’s the “upside-downness” of it all that particularly tickles me. A scruffily dressed OAP, a veteran left wing rebel and career protest politician. The only thing fashionable about him is his beard and that’s only by accident. How did he gate-crash the Labour leadership election? He only threw his hat into the ring because his left-wing friends threw it in there for him- "go on Jeremy it’s your turn". He scrapped onto the ballot paper with minutes to go, after a few MPs reluctantly lent him their nominations . He was then only supposed to be in it to make up the numbers, make it look more democratic. Just a bit of stage left scenery (opposite Liz Kendall's stage right) on a stage set up for the two real candidates; the younger, prettier candidates, the solid, safe, centrist/soft left candidates, Yvette Cooper and Andy Burnham. 

  Only it seems Jeremy hadn't read the script. Instead of sticking to his lines, he's performed an entirely different play all of his own.

  Whilst Andy Burnham started as clear favourite, the signs were there from the first televised hustings. It was Jeremy whom the audiences most warmed to and clapped to. And though not a single newspaper editor endorsed him, twitter and face book were soon buzzing with enthusiastic support for him. And then came the big endorsements from the unions and the local Labour parties. And a tsunami wave of 10,000s of new party members and supporters, many (like my daughter) only registering to vote for Jeremy (a few maliciously but most genuinely and enthusiastically).

  Of course, the party's old "grandees" all lined up to denounce this dangerous left wing pied piper who would lead Labour into the jaws of hell. Vote ABC they said,  " anyone but  Corbyn ". 

   

Yet this newly sprouting electorate weren't listening to those yesterday's men. And meeting halls were soon bursting at the seams for enthusiastic crowds to lap up his gospel of hope, peace and social justice. It was a heretical message that rejected the Conservative/New Labour consensus of austerity to deal with debt, the role of assistant world policeman, faith in free markets and lower taxes (especially for the rich). But this message was so popular that he’s had to address outside the masses who couldn't squeeze inside the halls.

  And very soon the pollsters were all pointing towards something that weeks earlier was impossible; Jeremy's landslide victory. The two candidates who were supposed to be favourites, Andy & Yvette, were just hanging in there, hoping there'd be enough ABC voters to take it to a second ballot. Meanwhile each argued that they were the only one who could save the party from him.

  So what's the secret of his appeal? He's not even a great orator, no silver-tongued rabble-rouser. Few jokes, no purple prose or soundbite spin, just straight talking with the authority of someone who not only knows what he’s talking about but actually believes in it too. And he “doesn’t do personal.” He has no time for petty sniping at his rivals and critics. It’s principles and policies that interest and excite him. And he doesn't do sleaze either. The worst he can be accused of is associating with dodgy people, "sinners" who support  terrorism (He says he'll talk to anyone to try to promote peace). He takes no backhanders and fiddles no expenses. In fact he consistently has the lowest expenses claim of any MP. And perhaps this is part of his appeal. At last an honest, plain-speaking politician, who just tells it as he sees it, with no vain varnish or cynical soundbites and who genuinely stands for something that he believes in. Almost the ante-type to the modern political leader, which perhaps makes him the very type of politician the country is crying out for.

 But it’s not just about him or even mainly about him, it’s his message, which he’s articulated in a whole raft of policy documents ; as if this campaign was something that he’d been planning for years, rather than the last minute accident that it was. And surprisingly I’ve found very many of his ideas when considered with the care he himself takes over them actually make sense. His policies are supported by Nobel prizing winning economists and in many cases by the wider public too. Just not by the establishment; the media and other politicians. Yet to my mind most of his policies are actually not very extreme. Mostly, they would not have been out of place in an updated version of the SDP’s manifesto on which I campaigned for my dad in 1983. They seem more left wing only because the centre of politics has since shifted substantially to the right.

  Where will all this end? Will the opinion polls be proved wrong? (Surely that's never happened before !) Or will his victory be snatched from him by litigation over voting irregularities? Will he be crowned leader only to be brought down a few months later as the party splits and his fellow MPs bring out the knives? And what if miraculously at age 71 he is somehow still standing as Labour leader at the next election? Will he not find the somewhat different audience of the general public rather less receptive than the crowds who have flocked to him this summer? Will his seed fall on too much stony ground of hard-hearted voters who don't share his passion for social justice or will it be strangled by the thorns and weeds of our conservative media?

  Or will a political miracle really happen? Can a scruffy septuagenarian socialist with a 30 year career in protest politics really pull it off? Through plain speaking without spin and soundbites, can he inspire enough voters with his vision of a fairer, kinder, more optimistic society to get him over the winning line? (After all the votes of less than a quarter of the electorate are normally enough to win). I don’t know. I remain doubtful, but I would like to believe it though. 

  For it seems to me this country we have for too long now been enthralled by a consensus ideology born in the Conservative party but adopted by New Labour ; blind faith in the good of the free market and the evil of state interference, lower taxes on the income and property of the rich, in the belief that the market will run things better and the wealth will trickle down. It hasn’t worked; nationally and globally the rich have got richer and the poor have got poorer, our planet is overheating from fossil fuels, while it was the lack of state regulation and tolerance of reckless greed (not government borrowing) that led to the economic crash. Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying the opposite is true either; state good, market bad. (I'm old enough to remember the 1970s and my dad’s disastrous British Leyland cars like the Austin Princess and the endless strikes). Blind faith in either the market or the state is a mistake. They are both false gods. I just believe it is time for a new way, a better blend of the two. Like Margaret Thatcher was the herald for the new free market ideology that has held sway for 36 years, could Jeremy Corbyn be the evangelist of a new ideology that might itself one day rule the kingdom as a new consensus? I don’t know. As a Labour party member, I've not even decided if I will vote for him. I am still pondering if Andy Burnham might be a safer, more obvious choice to win a general election.

 Yet stranger, more unlikely things than that have happened. As they did with another J.C. 2,000 years ago... To be continued

"Party"- a poem (from the novel "Space Ark-The Discovery").

 This is another poem from my novel "Space Ark-The Discovery", written by one of the central characters, Sam Carrier. It appears as an introduction to one of the later chapters. The chapter centres around a party to celebrate the opening of the trans-continental railway tunnel through the Sacred Mountain. This tunnel links the two great rival nations, the New Eden Republic and the Great Northern Kingdom.

Party… A magic word for some;

 A license for feasting, frivolity and fun.

Let wine like summer rain pour down

To loosen the tongue and erase that frown

Put away your school books and bring on the clowns,

Strike up the band, embrace rhythm, light and sound !

Party… For some a word to strike fear;

The occasion they’ve been dreading for nearly all the year.

All those bubbly party people, with their smiley, chatty faces;

Will I know what to say to them, will I talk in the wrong places?

With no one to speak to will I just be stuck there by the wall?

As lonely as the hat-stand standing in the hall,

But unlike the hat-stand, serving no purpose at all.

Party… For some another word for sin;

A demon being summoned in each glass of wine, beer or gin.

“Follow me,” he beckons them, as he casts his silent spell

And down garlanded paths he leads them to the very gates of hell.

For one through fleshly lusts to the bed of another man’s wife,

For another by violent brawling he takes another man’s life,

Still another is lured to the card-table- just for the fun of playing the game-

To find the game has played him and left him without a penny to his name.

Party… which party shall it be tonight?

The Last Call- A Different Kind of Election Part 3

  It was the last call I was going to make that evening. Just 2 hours before the polling stations closed. I was hungry for what was left of the curry at the ward base camp. This should be a short one. They’d probably voted already anyway. After all, they hadn’t far to walk. I could actually see the polling station from their front step, no more than 50 metres away. The door was opened by a slim , raven-haired white lady. Pretty bright blue eyes, but a furrowed forehead and thin angry mouth. I thought I vaguely recognised her from years ago. From school may be, but a few years below me? She scowled at my rosette. This was not promising. I checked my notes. Yes right house number. Supposedly they were voting for us.

 “Good evening  Mrs -------.  Sorry to disturb you. I’m Jeremy from the local Labour party. Just calling to check if you’d been able to vote this evening?”

 “To be honest I don’t think I’m going to vote.”

  “Oh really, why’s that?”

  “What’s the point?  It won’t make any difference. You’re all as bad as one another.”

   Perhaps I should just let this one go, catch up with Les and “MH” then head back for some curry? But no, I thought, one last push, one final conversation. Of course, one vote on its own wouldn’t make any difference, but if we all thought like that…After all, this could be one of thousands of late canvassing conversations around the country. Together, collectively these last calls could make all the difference. Couldn’t they?

  “I think there is a difference you know. It’s important what’s at stake at this election. The Tories if they get in are going to take our public spending on a “roller coaster road”, with £30 billion of cuts. That won’t be good for the economy or ordinary families like yours… Child tax credit…”

   “Well, I’m not voting for them either. But none of you lot help us. All those people coming over here. They get the first choice of houses, the pick of the jobs. Not our kids. We need to look after our own.”

   “Well, Labour have accepted they didn’t get things quite right over immigration last time. They would require EU migrants to work for 2 years before they got benefits."

 Still scowling.

 “… but  I’m afraid free movement of labour is part of the rules of the European club, if we want the benefits of being part of the club…thousands of jobs rely on us being part of Europe, but the Tories would put all that at risk. Our kid’s futures…”

 Still scowling.

 “So what about all the others coming over here?”

  “Actually you know immigrants contribute more in taxes than they take … our NHS couldn’t cope without all the doctors and nurses from overseas.”

   Yes, still scowling.

  “Well, how come that lot are allowed to go round with their ceremonial swords? We’d get arrested if we did that.”

    And now I’m scowling.

    And after a bit more word-jousting, I signed off as I’d started; “Good evening, Mrs -------.”

****************************

 The lady on that last call clearly wasn’t listening. Or if she was listening she wasn’t hearing. Her heart was hardened. Whatever I said she was determined not to believe me. She’d already made up her mind. The polling station was only 50 yards away, but it might as well as been 50 light years away. She wasn’t going to vote for us. She wasn’t going to vote for anyone. Yet by choosing not to vote she was kind of voting by default. Like nearly a third of those entitled to vote, she was choosing to let everyone else decide who should run the country.

   But there’s a much more important choice we have to make, a much more important election, whose results we’ll have to live with not just for 5 years, but for the whole of eternity. But, as with the general election, so many of us won’t engage in the process. We won’t be making a choice. We’ll be copping out.  And yet by not taking a decision, we are still making a choice, a choice by default.

  The choice I’m talking about is whether we choose Jesus as our leader.  Whether we “vote” for him or not I believe Jesus is one day going to return to rule the world. But he won’t force his rule on us. We have to choose him if we want him to be our ruler.

 But with him the election is not so much his election as ours.  It’s God who gets the vote. Will he elect us to be part of his new society, part of his wonderful new kingdom on earth? According to the bible, the answer is starkly simple. Everyone who votes for Jesus he too will vote for and accept as a citizen of his heavenly kingdom.  Apart from Jesus, “there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:11), and the bible guarantees this; “everyone who calls on Him [Jesus] will be saved “(Acts 2:21) and thereby become a citizen of his fantastic future kingdom, glimpsed in Revelation 21 . And if we choose not to believe in Him…. then we are choosing to exclude ourselves from His kingdom, forever (John 3 v 16-18). 

 So what about those who never hear about Jesus in this life, who never get the opportunity to “vote”? The bible doesn’t tell us. May be like the criminals dying on the cross next to Jesus they get   their chance, as a one to one with Him, just as they die? (Luke 23:39-43). Only God knows and we just have to trust Him to act justly. (Genesis 18:22-26).

 But for most people in this country who have heard about Jesus they do have a choice, a vote now. This is our opportunity. We have to seek him while he may be found, call on while he is near (Isaiah 55:6). There won’t be any more chances to vote for Him in the next life, for we are “destined to die once and after that to face judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27). Once our life’s bell tolls the polling station closes. Yet like that lady I last called on we’re actually very close to that eternal polling station. God is much nearer to all of us than we think (Acts 17:26-31). As and when we reach out to Him, He reaches out to us- “come near to God and He will come near to you”. (James 4:8-10)  But if we “harden our hearts”, if we close our minds off to Him we’ll never find Him. (Hebrews 3: 15)   If we want to be one of the elect, one of the chosen citizens of his amazing kingdom on earth when he returns we need to vote for Jesus now.

  But isn’t it just naïve wishful thinking that King Jesus will one day return to put the world right? Most people would say so and of course being a predicted future event there is no way I can prove it will happen. Yes it is a matter of faith. And yet it’s not simply blind, irrational faith. It’s a faith based on a past track record. This guy has history for pulling off the impossible. According to the most reliable ancient records that we have (the new Testament gospels-yes, you heard right!) this man lived a life of miracles, culminating in the greatest miracle of all; by rising from the dead three days after his crucifixion, just as he’d predicted he would. And if he didn’t do then there are some things you have to seriously wonder at. Like how on earth did a strange sect of the national religion of a tiny state at the far reaches of the Roman empire not just die out with its failed leader? How come I 3,000 miles away and 2,000 years later believe in him? How did his frightened, abandoned, mostly uneducated followers manage to spread his message to the centre of the Roman empire within only a generation? And how and why were most of them prepared to sacrifice their lives for what they must have known to be a lie?  How did his message, instead of dying out with him, reach and transform the lives of millions of people from “every tribe, nation and language”?

  And if Jesus really did do the “impossible” by overcoming death, just as he predicted, you have to start taking seriously his other prediction; the prediction that he will one day return to earth to bring his heavenly kingdom. 

  Jesus might not return until many years after we die. But, as Daniel prophesied, when he does those who have died in Him and “sleep…will awake…to everlasting life” (Daniel 12:1-3). As “the last trumpet call” sounds they will be “transformed” into immortal beings (1 Corinthians 15:51-54), fit to be citizens of his heavenly city, fit to return to earth to rule the kingdom with King Jesus. (Daniel 7:18).

  Of course, I might just be completely wrong. Just like, I believe, many people were deceived by the Tory spin and lies at the last election, perhaps the millions like me who believe in Jesus have been taken in by the church’s spin and lies? All I can say is that I have at least carefully (and prayerfully) looked into it. Just like I carefully (and prayerfully) looked into the claims, counter claims and manifestos of the parties before the last election . Only then did I sign up, campaign and vote for the Labour party. I looked at the actual evidence, rather than just relying on my natural instincts or the headline media spin. By doing so, I believe I found out for myself , for example, the truth about the cause of the economic crash, our debt /deficit and who actually  had the better record of economic competence. And it was not the Conservatives!  (Taking a look at a graph of our historical debt and deficit will give you quite a strong clue). Unfortunately, what the conservatives did have was the better evangelists!

 Of course, I know full well that there are others who have looked just as closely into these things and came to the opposite conclusion. Either of us could be wrong, but at least we’ve seriously looked into it. Sadly, most of the electorate either failed to consider their vote in very much depth or (a third) failed to vote at all. But if I’m right, something much greater is at stake with Jesus. And yet how many of us have really looked into the evidence about Jesus, his claims and manifesto?  Not all people who have carefully looked into the truth about Jesus have accepted Him, but a great deal of them have. What he is claiming (if true) is literally earth-shattering, universe-shattering,  (yes even) multiverse-shattering. It would be of eternal importance for our lives. So, so much more important than any general election. 

  Aren’t his claims at least worth looking into? Or will we just make a decision by default, to reject him and risk missing out on that last call, risk missing out on our election to eternal life?