I have wondered from time to time what we would do differently at church if our country’s leader attended worship with us. Would we fawn over him/her as I saw some Christians do for a politician who attended a Christian funeral? Or would we be stoically polite?—All the while restraining ourselves from asking why laws are passed encouraging the worst of sins.
It is my prayer that all Christians take a giant step away from the affairs of government. The sooner we accept that God has been involved in the affairs of human rule since the beginning of time, the wiser we will be.
Remember, it is He who raises us kingdoms and it is He who destroys them. The “whys” and the “Hows” of God’s dealings with every kingdom and empire is beyond you and me. So, why do we act as if we are experts on the subject?
The apostle Paul spoke respectfully to King Agrippa and the other political dignitaries in Acts 26. Jesus had told Paul that he would preach before kings, and Paul was not about to let a chance go by.
Paul’s ‘sermon’ before Agrippa was his personal story about how he became a Christian. Jesus had taken Paul away from the work he was doing for the Centre of Power of Israel, and made him a slave of the Gospel.
Of all the issues of injustice and inhumanity in the Roman Empire that Paul could have discussed before Agrippa, he went straight for the issue that mattered most—Agrippa’s soul. Luke reports:
And Paul said, “I would wish to God, that whether in a short or long time, not only you, but also all who hear me this day, might become such as I am, except for these chains.” (Acts 26:29).
I am convinced that after praying and preparing our hearts to wish nothing but salvation upon our leaders, we will more clearly see how God uses the kingdoms of this world for His purposes in the Kingdom of Christ.
He always has, and He always will!
John Staiger