The following is a series of short exhortations, brief commentary, and writings to convey thoughtful meditation on God's Word. I have chosen the Gospel of John as the subject. I pray that these will be a blessing and an edification for the saints.
JOHN 7:18
"He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.
Authority is established in this world, coming in many varieties and degrees. There is political authority, economic, academic and many other manifestations. Ultimately however all (true) authority comes from GOD (PSA 62:11; REV 19:1).
Because of this, embassies are not subject to the laws or political and social parameters of the foreign country. They operate independently and in accord to the host nation.
2 CORINTHIANS 5:18-20
18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. (We are to be peacemakers between GOD and this planet in rebellion against Him! MATT 5:9).
There are Christians who denounce such patriotism as being a form of idolatry, and they believe it’s something we as Christians should actively reject and avoid.
Then there are other Christians who dovetail the American ideal in with Christianity, and in the extreme there is a form of “Christian Nationalism”. They want to bring America back to being “a Christian nation” and deem non-Christians, (even non-whites!) as virtual “second class citizens”. It must be stated that not all “Christian Nationalism” adheres to such prejudices!
As is so often the case, the truth lies somewhere between the two extremes, and I will share my perspective on all of this, and (hopefully) it will help those Christians who are confused about this issue and not sure what to think about it all.
2 TIMOTHY 2:3-4
3 You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.
I remember the TV show M*A*S*H* - and the characters of Benjamin “Hawkeye” Pierce and BJ Hunnicutt – army surgeons that were anything but Army! No discipline whatsoever, and their bunk tent showed it!
They routinely lay in lawn chairs under umbrellas, with glasses of iced tea in their hands, donning straw hats and sunglasses.
Though they had to deal with the harsh realities of war in Korea, they strove to obtain all the comforts of home. Yet true soldiers rid themselves of everything that will obstruct them in carrying out their military duties.
True soldiers aren’t interested in comfort, but combat; nor are they motivated by personal gain, but in commendation their commanding officer!
What with the wide variety of personality types, each of us has a certain capability for trusting others. Some are just naturally trusting souls, others are more reserved, still others are downright suspicious of everyone.
In the main however, most of us are willing to trust even strangers to a certain point, but not beyond it. Some are vigilantly distrustful because they’ve been burned too many times, and to avoid getting hurt again, they build walls so as to prevent being violated. It can be well nigh impossible to gain such a one’s confidence!
