Our God is Greater!

(Image courtesy of ibelieve.com.)

 “Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years. He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin which he made Israel to sin” (1 Kings 15:25–26).

“And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place…. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent…” (Acts 17:26, 30).

Each one of us is responsible to God for how we live – the things we say, do, think, and feel. But earthly rulers are responsible in a greater way, for their actions and decisions affect more than themselves. Nevertheless, as powerful as an earthly ruler may be, his rule and reign pale in comparison to the Lord of all creation!

For most of history, the “little people” didn’t have the opportunity to choose their leaders. In Israel, for instance, the people were ruled by various kings and dynasties. For much of Israel’s history a pattern ensued of good king, bad king, good king, bad king…. Some kings led the people astray to worship false gods and idols, while other kings returned to the true God and tore down the temples of the false gods.

Each person had to decide what to do with the time that was given to them. The same goes for us. In the past, some grew up under good kings, some under bad. But each person was responsible, ultimately, to God. Even in the midst of bad kings with ungodly policies, God preserved a remnant (a small group) of his faithful followers so that his glory would never fade from the minds of his people.

As powerful as earthly rulers are, their glory fades in comparison to God’s. Only God can create something from nothing, and he sovereignly and masterfully put each individual who ever lived in the place he wanted them to live, during the time period in which he wanted them to live. He made no mistakes. We were made, therefore, for such a time as this. You were made to live in this time period, in this place on earth, under the current political administration.

But more than that, you and I were made to know God through Jesus Christ. All mankind, in all places and at all times in history, has been faced with the same, basic problem: sin. Sin is the evil that we do, say, think, and feel. Since the fall of Adam and Eve, our lives have been stained by sin. To remedy this, God calls on each of us to repent; that is, to show penitence (remorse) for the bad that we’ve done and to seek Christ’s forgiveness.

How about you? Are you living a life of repentance; that is, are you remorseful for sin that you commit? Thank God right now for the grace that he has shown to you in Christ. And do not fear the future: God knows what he’s doing. In Christ, his people have been promised an eternity of living under the righteous rule of the best King!