Non-eternal things end! I wonder if one of our major issues in the Church, in our lives and in our country relates to placing our trust and faith in things that aren't eternal? Most of us took the supply chain for granted ... something we see now as a concern. At Thanksgiving, Walmart had only a few turkey breasts ... we were fortunate to find one of the last ones. There is a shortage of artificial Christmas trees ... again, we were lucky and found a display model. I heard this morning that there is even a shortage of Santa Clauses!!! I guess somewhere in the Pacific there is a boat circling a port, all filled-up with fake Santa Clauses, looking to dock and unload them! Yep, faith and trust in the wrong things! But (to quote Dr. Seuss) "He hadn't stopped Christmas from coming, it came! Somehow or other, it came just the same!" Christmas is coming and will come, bringing (to all who want something eternal) "peace on earth, and good will to all people!"
Here's my question. How can we (the people of God) grasp, hold and offer God's goodness, grace and peace ... some of the eternal things of God? Isaiah 9:7 reminds us that God offers something that isn't conditioned on our situation. It says, "His government and its peace will never end!" In spite of all the things trying to derail God's plan (and there are many) and in spite of economic, social, governmental and media reports, Isaiah says "His government and its peace will never end!" Is God looking at the same world we are looking at? The answer is, yes!
Two things about this passage. The first thing is a condition of the second thing. The word is "governance," but in the Hebrew it is related to the entirety of "judging." It generally means to rule over all aspects of life. A judge would make governmental policy (how things are done). When God governs our lives, God decides how we operate. I see too many moms and dads who are willing to let others set the policy in their households. I remember accidently picking up a book from a Belk store in Charlotte when I had picked up the items we had bought. We got home and I found I had a book on stamp collecting that we hadn't paid for. We didn't wait for when it was easy or convenient. We got in the car, drove the 30 minutes back to downtown and took that book back to the store. My mom made me apologize, even though it wasn't my intention to take the book. She said, "That's not how we do things!" It was a good lesson on the 'policy' in the Greene household. If you want peace that is never-ending and everlasting, you gotta let God set the policy. His governance needs to be the standard!
The result of God's governance is that you can have a never-ending peace. Martin Luther King's peace in a Birmingham jail. Eric Liddell's peace as he would not run an Olympic event on God's day. Mary's peace (Luke 2) as, in the midst of shepherd visits, conflict with local/national government, a child born in a stable and that marital issue with Joseph, "Mary treasured-up all these things and pondered them in her heart!" I believe she had peace!
Jesus says, in John 14, "Do not let your hearts be troubled!" He expresses a sense of peace in the midst of terrible turmoil and strife. How can He do this and command us to do the same thing? His life is governed by God the Father. His policy brings peace that is never-ending. He is the Prince of Peace, and His reign will be forever for those who are willing to let Him rule the roost and run the show. So, for this chaotic time where we seem to be running out of a lot, we will never run out of God's peace! AMEN! Randy
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