The things one reads . . . .
While doing some research today I read the following:
“Monarchy was necessary for Israel’s survival, but like
every turning point in the nation’s history, it carried great risk.”
Wait a minute, where did that come from? “Necessary?”
Did anyone inform God of that?
Certainly the monarchy was within God’s plan. There had to be a Kingdom for there to be a
Kingdom to last forever – right? But, “necessary?” Necessary for their survival?
Statements like this concern me. Yes, if it was (and it was) in God’s plan it
was “necessary.” But if we think for one
moment that it was something God had to do outside of His plan we have a
serious problem.
I know, I’m picking gnits.
But when we allow for the potential of eroding our appreciation and view
of God’s sovereignty we tread on very dangerous ground.
Had the author said, “necessary as part of God’s plan,” I’d
have felt better. But just, “necessary?” I don’t think so.
It is not a bad thing to look at the history of the faith
through the common dynamics of the world.
But unless one keeps the sovereignty of God firmly in mind one risks
losing that element all together.
Even today, in these really depressing times, we have to
hold to His sovereignty. As we view the
events in the middle-east we cannot view them apart from His sovereignty. As we look forward to our coming election we
cannot lose sight of His sovereignty.
My view is that it does not matter who is President as long
as God is in control. The only reason
the election matters to me is because of my preferences, my beliefs. But, since Jesus won’t be on any ballot and I
don’t think He’d accept a nomination anyway what matters is that God is
sovereign.
No, I’m not saying don’t vote, don’t be active, it doesn’t
matter. But I am saying that we as
citizens of His Kingdom and His subjects first and foremost must temper our
activities with our feet firmly planted in our knowledge of His sovereignty.
We can and must oppose (within His limits) the evil we see
around us. But we do have to let go of
the illegitimate idea that we are going to bring His Kingdom here and now. That just isn’t our job and we can see in
history how that’s always a wrong turn in the road.
Yes, I can agree with the idea that we are endowed by our
creator with a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness (which
originally was “property”) but that endowment is under His sovereignty, His
will. He is in control of my life, my
liberty and my happiness.
We have to come to terms with the fact that the only freedom
that matters is the freedom from sin’s domination. Our freedom bought by the blood of the Lamb
of God.
Prayer is always a greater tool than protest. Yes, in our country we (so far) are free to
protest. But any protest that takes
place without much much prayer is powerless.
As the world continues to spin around the porcelain fixture
and the elections loom on the horizon we need to be praying more than protesting
or campaigning. Since every possible
candidate is a fallen human being and even those who claim redemption still
must struggle against the flesh the field is relatively level.
Few if any of our past leaders have been examples of
biblical morality and it looks like none of our future potential leaders will
be either. So as we evaluate the issues
and platforms we have to pray and pray hard.
What we need to pray for is not some mini-messiah who will
impose the truth of God on the country. What
we really need to pray for is that, regardless of who is in power, we will
continue to be faithful to our commission and our King.
I would suggest that the best way to begin and end our
prayers concerning politics and culture is, “Come quickly Lord!”
Well – hope you give this some thought. As you interact with others concerning the
political issues please remember you represent the Prince of Peace, that God is
sovereign and that no one and nothing can rob you of your freedom in Him.
Bullwinkle for President!!!!!! ;-}}}}}}}
Be at peace – God is sovereign and God is good!
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