7 Things Jesus Will Never Say or Do to Get Your "Vote"

It's presidential campaign season. Candidates say a lot of things to get your vote. The God we meet in Jesus Christ (in Him, the Bible says, "all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell") has been engaged in a "campaign" to win our "votes" as Lord and Savior of our lives for centuries. But, unlike the political candidates frenetically seeking your vote, there are some things that Jesus will never say or do to get your vote:

• Jesus will never pretend to be something He's not, part 1. Jesus, God the Son, never downplayed His origins. Asked, "Are You the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?" Jesus answered, "I AM" (Mark 14:62). I AM, Yahweh, is the name with which God first identified Himself when God called Moses to lead His people Israel. 
• Jesus will never pretend to be something He's not, part 2. When God came to earth in the Person of Jesus, He experienced a life of humility and simplicity. He was raised by a couple so poor that when they brought Jesus to be dedicated at the Temple in Jerusalem, they couldn't afford the sacrifice given by wealthier parents, a lamb. Instead, the offered what the Old Testament stipulated for families of more modest means: "a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons" (Luke 2:23, Exodus 13:2, 12). 
• Jesus will never pretend to be empathetic; He really does understand us. The Bible says that we do not have in Jesus a "high priest," an advocate, Who "is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but...One Who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin." This allows us to "approach the throne of grace [God] with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:15-16). 
• Jesus will never turn His back on some followers in order to placate others. He promises all who believe in Him, "I am with you always, even to the close of the age" (Matthew 28:20).
• Jesus will never tell us that we are blameless. Politicians try to build coalitions of support by appealing to our egos. But Jesus once told a group of people who had believed in Him (John 8:31), "If I tell you the truth, why do you not believe Me? Whoever is from God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear then is that you are not from God..." (John 8:46-47). Yet it was to "seek and save" those lost in sin--the entire human race--that Jesus came to die on a cross and rise from the dead (Luke 19:10). Only those who "repent and believe" in the Kingdom of God over which He reigns can have Jesus as their king, today and in eternity (Mark 1:15).
• Jesus will never tell you He will make this world perfect for those who "vote" for Him. While Jesus' kingdom has invaded this imperfect world (Luke 17:21), His kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). It's Jesus' intention to establish a "new heaven and a new earth," in which sin and injustice are banished forever and where those who have become part of His new creation, by faith in Him (2 Corinthians 5:17), will live eternally (Revelation 21:1). In the meantime, even believers in Jesus will be pressed hard by the pain, difficulties, and tragedies of this fallen world. Sometimes, following Jesus will make our lives harder than they otherwise would be. "In this world you face persecution" for faith in Him, Jesus once said, "But take courage; I have conquered the world" (John 16:33).
• Jesus never promises His followers material wealth. But He does warn us of the dangers an obsession of wealth can cause our souls when money takes the place of God in our priorities: "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God" (Matthew 19:24).

With campaign promises like these, it's no wonder that the people of Jesus' day--Jew and Gentile--elected to crucify or abandon Him.

But today, as in Jesus' time on earth, those who receive Him and believe in His Name, are given the power to become the children of God (John 1:12-13).

Vote for Jesus by giving your life to Him. As Jesus Himself says: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life."