I love it when it seems that God is bringing things together from different sources that somehow synthesize to reveal His truth. Here’s an example.
First Thread
A few days ago I received a forwarded Email ardently defending the claim that the USA always has been and indeed continues to be a Christian nation. Here’s an excerpt: “I watched in horror as Barack Obama made the statement with pride. . .’We are no longer a Christian nation; we are now a nation of Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists … we can show this man and the world in November that we are, indeed, still a Christian nation!”
It is unquestionable that we have become a nation where many faiths are represented. This letter troubled me on several accounts. One is, I’m not sure how “Christian nation” is being defined. Do we define ourselves as a Christian nation
- by having a higher percentage of professing Christians than of any other group?
- by promoting “Christian laws” and ideals via a dominant political position?
- by being know as a nation that reflects Christ-like character and hearts?
I’m also not sure how the person we elect as President will prove one way or the other that we are a Christian nation?
Second Thread
The next day I was listening to an audio Bible of Max McLean reading 1 Samuel 8. It was about Israel’s insistence on having a king like other nations had. God gave them their wish in Saul, Israel’s first king, but God warned them of the inevitable dangers that would come with having an earthly king rather than following God Himself as King.
Third Thread
Yesterday, I was reading Mark 11 and reflected on the massive crowds who threw their coats and palm branches before Jesus as He rode on a donkey’s colt into Jerusalem for the original Palm Sunday. It is the quintessential illustration to me of how fickle we can be, exalting Jesus as a redeemer king one day and just a few days later becoming silent at best or trying to rid Him from our lives at worst.
Verse 10 struck me in a way I had never noticed before: “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” That the people were expecting a return to the kingdom of David rather than a return to the Kingdom of God helps explain their fickleness. Maybe it explains ours as well. The Kingdom of God just does not fit into the categories of the kingdoms of this world. Jesus said it clearly in John 18:36 “My kingdom is not of this world,” said Jesus. “If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews. As it is, My kingdom does not have its origin here.”
Tying the Threads Together
Many missed Jesus and His Kingdom because they were looking for a kingdom of this world. I fear that little has changed. If we insist on a kingdom here ruled by Christians, we might even get what we want and still miss Jesus and the Kingdom of God. I vote against that.
