I am hopeful for the future of the United Kingdom as we head into 2020. Not because one party has won and another has lost, but because we believe in a God who is powerful.
The last few years have exposed deep divisions in our society, and this election campaign has exacerbated these rather than healing them.
The task before us all, politicians and public alike, is to work together in our communities and across our nations. I have been reflecting since taking my new leadership role a few months ago on the passion for unity that is at the heart of the Evangelical Alliance, and I think this is one vital way the church can serve the nation in the months and years ahead.
Psalm 133 says: 'How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity', as the church we must model this, as we come together across ages, races and classes, when men and women stand and work together as one.
And as we do this, as we show that issues of Brexit and public services, of taxation and spending do not divide our churches, we can be a witness to reconciliation for our communities.
And it's Christmas, for some the election result is the nightmare before Christmas, for others their wish come true, but either way, and for those ambivalent about the outcome, it's the time of the year that we most clearly remember the great reconciler who came to earth.
Jesus, who came as a baby to be like us, but also is God so could reconcile us in a way we never could ourselves. Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us – the one who stands beside us regardless of the storms of this current political moment.
He is the one who we look to for leadership, we put our faith in Jesus and never in political leaders. It is in Jesus that we have hope, and that's why I'm hopeful for the UK as we head towards 2020.
I'm praying for Boris Johnson as he returns to Downing Street, and I will pray for the leaders of all the parties and for MPs as they prepare for a quick return to Westminster before Christmas.
This weekend take time to pray for our political leaders and our nation as we also look towards Christmas and celebrate the birth of Christ. In the New Year I encourage churches to invite their MP to join them one Sunday, or to see work they are doing across the community to bring people together and to serve our society.
I hope that you have a wonderful Christmas and I am praying that 2020 will be a year full of hope and one in which the gospel powerfully changes many lives.
Gavin Calver is CEO of the UK Evangelical Alliance.
