It’s Election Day.

We’ve taken advantage of the opportunity to learn a bit more about the country of my birth in our homeschooling endeavors.

We even made this snazzy little poster to enhance our geography knowledge, ability to alphabetize and sharpen our math skills once the results filter in.

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But apart from the perk of it being a learning experience, the idea of election can be applied to Christianity as well.

Unlike the campaigns and fervent lobbying that have taken place in the past several months leading up to this day, we don’t have to convince anyone to vote for us when it comes to spiritual and eternal matters.  In fact, our own Election Day came and went before we even knew it existed.

Our Election Day took place before the beginning of time.

“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight” (Ephesians 1:4).

“But that’s not fair,” we might protest.  “We didn’t even have a chance to prove ourselves worthy … we didn’t get to put our best foot forward, to convince God why we deserve heaven, to show that our good works outweigh the bad….”

And that is just the point.

The amazing, miraculous mystery of salvation by grace.

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Another mystery regarding election is how a presidential candidate, according to the U.S. electoral system, can actually win the popular vote and still lose the election.  The converse is therefore also true – it’s actually possible for a candidate to lose the popular vote and still win the election.

As I spent time explaining to my kids why candidates spend more time campaigning in certain states with higher numbers of electoral votes, I realized that in life, we often do the same thing.  We spend our time trying to impress and win approval from those people and places that we think matter most.  We try to win the favor and vote from some more than others.

We spend time trying to gather up the popular vote while not giving sufficient attention to the One Vote that really matters … the only vote that is granted based on sheer grace and nothing — nothing — that you or I have ever done.