Harriet Miers Calm, Cool, Collected. How?
By J. Grant Swank Jr. (10/12/05)
It’s like this: If Harriet Miers is an evangelical, and she and her friends claim that she is, then she is going to remain cool. That’s just the way it is.
Miers, being an evangelical, has this for a devotional spiritual perspective: It is that her God is in total control of her life, come what may. Total control.
Evangelicals believe in making a complete surrender of their earthly existence to God in Christ. That is basic. There are tangents up the ying yang in theology and doctrine within the evangelical network. But one matter is sure. It is that the foundation of faith is built upon an abandoned trust in God in Christ.
That means for Miers that she took her hands off her life way back when. One day she was talking with a legal colleague about the void in her soul. He explained to her that she needed a personal commitment to Christ. She thought about it. Then she called him up and said that she wanted to make that kind of individual surrender.
With that, she prayed. He prayed. The pact with Christ was settled. It was not only to find salvation by which to have the hope of heaven. It was likewise having an abandoned consecration to the Lord of her life — everything. That included her health, vocation, friendships, money, associations, professional ties, possessions, and dreams.
That’s the way with every truly mature evangelical. Evangelicals don’t claim ownership of their own lives. They are "sold out to God," to use a phrase common among evangelicals. Another phrase is this: "I surrender all." There is even an old-time gospel hymn with that title.
Those mature in the evangelical faith mean that in the most practical way. Therefore, when focusing in on Harriet Miers, her nomination to the Supreme Court is taken in stride. She honestly believes that US President George W. Bush did not have the full say in the matter. God has prompted Mr. Bush to come upon her name for the highest court.
Now if God wants Miers on that bench, she will be there, regardless of polls and media and politicians. God will have His plan set forth in her future because of one variable. She has completely surrendered that future to God in Christ. God in Christ makes no mistakes for the evangelical. Of course, they have trials and complications like all other mortals, but they believe that God in Christ works "all things for good to those called according to His purpose." (Paul’s Letter to the Romans, chapter 8, verse 28)
There are numerous promises in the Bible which evangelicals live by. They read them. They study them. They write them down. They share them with friends. They put them on plaques. They write them on greeting cards. They are their creeds for everyday living.
Miers has her own volume of biblical promises. And with those promises, she holds on to their fulfillment for fear life. There is no other compass for her existence here on this planet. Therefore, she remains cool, calm and collected for why should she be otherwise? There is no theological nor logical reason for her to be rattled by anything.
The press can say what they want. The conservatives and liberals can banter her name back and forth until they’re blue in the face. The church heads can weigh in on her theology. The talk shows can entertain one caller after another.
Miers believes that none of this has anything to do with whether or not she is on the high bench. And what if she is not put there finally?
She will accept that as the will of God in Christ. She will praise that God for her not being there on the US Supreme Court. She will thank Him in prayer and praise.
She will go with her life waiting for God to reveal what is next; and whatever it is, menial or stately, she will go into it believing that it is right.
And if she is put on the high bench, she will thank God. She will walk to her new job with confidence that the same God who put her there is going to wisely guide her there. And so life will continue — calm, cool, and collected.
Copyright © 2005 by J. Grant Swank, Jr.
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