Rubel Shelley, minister of Woodmont Hills Church of Christ in Nashville, TN recently remarked concerning the 1998 national elections:
"There were several surprising results in the midterm elections of 1998. Some candidates projected to have a good chance at election lost by substantial margins. Some incumbents were soundly defeated. And some people were swept into office who weren't given any chance at all by the political experts.
The most unlikely of the winners was Jesse "The Body" Ventura. A former Navy SEAL who worked as a bouncer before becoming a "bad boy" in professional wrestling, Ventura was elected to be governor of Minnesota. Ventura, whose only political experience involved a term as mayor of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, defeated two of that state's biggest political names and had the last laugh after being dismissed as "irrelevant" in the campaign by the man who wound up second to him in the gubernatorial race.
Everybody appeared shocked by Ventura's win -- nobody more than Ventura himself! He has no staff and very few plans for what he wants to do as governor. Yet there he was on the day after the election with a wide grin on his face. Every TV network had an interview with him that morning. A long-shot had become a winner.
But what happened to Jesse Ventura is minor compared to what has happened with some other people in history. A murderer, a prostitute, a politician exposed for an affair, a coward, a seamstress, a pauper -- yet every one of them was elected to a post greater than governor, president, or monarch. Moses, Rahab, David, Peter, Dorcas, and Lazarus are featured in Scripture among God's elect for eternal life."
As Christians, you and I have been elected, chosen by God, to live as His children. The apostle Peter recognized the importance of being chosen by our Lord when he wrote, "Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 1:10-11 NIV). Rather than forsake us, our Father chose to offer us the opportunity to be reconciled to Him through Jesus Christ. We may never receive the attention of a unlikely victor like Jesse Ventura, but we have gained recognition from the One who matters most of all.
