Samuel was displeased when they asked for a king to judge them.
He prayed to the LORD, however, who said in answer:
"Grant the people's every request.
It is not you they reject, they are rejecting me as their king."
This is a temptation we find in every age. The problem is trying to solve issues that are fundamentally spiritual with mere politics. This is not to say that politics doesn't have a part to play or they we don't need to be active and do our civic duty. We do. But we can't try to do this instead of turning to God. It must all originate from our relationship with the one true King. It can't be that we pray for peace on earth, and don't get it, and so set about to bringing it to pass ourselves through our own strength. It is rather the King who tells us to work for peace. In all we do politically we act not apart from God or as a supplement to his involvement in the world, but rather we act politically as the hands and feet of God.
There is a profound desire in the world to separate the realms of the spiritual from everything else. It is safer for business as usual in the world if spiritual things are merely subjective and not allowed any input into the concrete affairs of daily life. But truly spiritual things refuse to be confined. They deal with both praying and working. They deal with soul and body. They deal with both physical healings and forgiveness of sins.
"Child, your sins are forgiven."
...
"I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home."
The scribes had so isolated God from life that they were unwilling to see the spiritual intervention in the life of the paralytic. But what they were able to ignore on that level they were not able to ignore on the physical.
They were all astounded
and glorified God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this."
This must be our approach. We listen to God and discover his heart. We learn that he desires all to be saved. He longs for the restoration of all things. We must desire this too and refuse to let our desire for it be confined.
Blessed the people who know the joyful shout;
in the light of your countenance, O LORD, they walk.
At your name they rejoice all the day,
and through your justice they are exalted.
No comments:
Post a Comment