It is one of those things you don’t think about very often, but you were taught. We don’t live under a democratic government. In that case every decision that would be made would be made by the group as a whole. Do we sign a trade deal with China? Do we start a new branch of the military called the Space Force? What should be the federal standard on social issues. All of these things are decided by those whom we elect to represent us, thus we have a representative government. Ah yes, the cobwebs coming off the old civics and government classes from school.
Another aspect of our country is that we are a republic--another term we must reach back to civics class to remember. It is a state where the members are equal, and the supreme power lies with the people and those they choose to represent them. And if they don’t represent us as we want, every two, four or six years, we can choose to not have them represent us. Again the supreme power belongs to its citizens, us. And we like it this way.
This month our sermons will center around the theme Home Sweet Home - The Kingdom of God. The idea of Home Sweet Home is nice.
It brings out warm feelings of a safe comfortable place. And when we are thinking about our Heavenly Father, hopefully safe is one of the aspects that we do feel. Since God is in control (though we sometimes are somewhat puzzled at why things happen as they do) we develop a peace knowing that He is truly in charge.
The downside of this can be our response to this control. The last part of this month’s theme is The Kingdom of God. By following God we submit to being part of that kingdom, having a king, and being subjects. That is where it can get difficult for us on an ongoing basis. The kingdom of God is a—well, a kingdom with a king. It is not a democracy. We don’t have a vote, the supreme authority does not lie with us, but with that king! That is a hard concept for us to accept, especially living within the government we do.
So why would we submit, “give up our vote,” and become subjects? The best answer comes from Peter in John 6:68. Many followers had stopped following Jesus because of the difficult teachings. Jesus asks the twelve if they want to leave also, to which Peter replies “Where would we go, you have the words of eternal life.” You are our Home Sweet Home.
Some of Jesus’ teachings are hard. They demand we submit to God’s ways. They call us to serve others rather than self. They order us to live differently from the world around us. They require us to die to self. But the King is there to protect us and to look after us, in this home and the sweet home that waits for us in eternity.
Home with my Father,
Randy
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