"So What?" to the Sovereignty of God in Politics

I am again thinking more about government and politics as we enter another presidential election year. I wrote here about the Sovereignty of God as a shaping idea in politics back in 2009! That was three years ago! Well, I wanted to follow up with that post by writing about how I think the Sovereignty of God makes a difference in government and politics. There are many implications to this idea, but I wanted to share an essential one here:

Government should represent the rule of God in this world. In other words, we should create and maintain governments. This implication is yet another expression of reflecting God as his image bearers. We are like God and we represent God. We stand in God's stead here on earth. We image God and reflect to varying degrees his different attributes, including his sovereignty. So we should exercise power and control over creation, over what God has assigned to us. This may sound obvious and unimportant, but we must remember that we are building a biblical worldview of government and therefore must start with the essentials of a biblical worldview: presuppositional ideas about God, about mankind, about creation. God is sovereign; we reflect and represent God; therefore we are sovereign (to a degree).

Now, these thoughts beg the question: who can really represent God? Maybe a better question might be: who really wants to represent God? We must remember that the direction in which we exercise this sovereignty in government is just as important as the fact that we have been given this capacity to rule and govern. As yet another presidential election approaches, here's an essential question to ask about the individuals seeking one of the most influential offices in the world: Which candidate most shows what God is like? In other words, who reflects God most accurately? Who thinks most like him? Whose goals most line up with his goals? Whose strategies most resemble his strategies? Who lives most like him? Who loves other individuals most like him?

Government leaders are living analogies of God. Indeed, they show what God is like. They can represent God more or less accurately and truthfully or they can more or less misrepresent and slander God. I say "more or less" because nobody is perfect and nobody should expect perfection, but ultimately their reputation is not on the line but God's. We must hold our leaders accountable for their actions, especially when they seek the highest office of the land. I wonder how many of the candidates are afraid to serve as president because they represent God. Let me not forget that I also represent God in my positions of leadership, authority, and influence. How afraid am I?