October 4, 2023

So, let me get this straight. As of the time that I am writing this, the U.S. House of Representatives does not have a formal Speaker of the House. Therefore, legislation cannot be passed. The Senator from New Jersey who chaired the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations has been indicted on federal corruption charges and refuses to step down. The former president is in the middle of a series of indictments and trials that appear to have no end in sight. Our current president’s son is in the middle of a legal mess that appears to implicate the president in some way. I contacted a friend of mine in D.C. this morning and asked him if things were as crazy there as they seem to be.

If you have ever visited our nation’s capital you know that the government buildings are constructed with materials that are designed to be both beautiful and strong. There is an intent to project an image of power, endurance and security. But buildings do not make a government. People do. All the marble, granite and sandstone in the world cannot create a healthy, stable, and sustainable kingdom or country. We’ve not lived through a revolution. But the story of our world is a story of anarchy, chaos, power and peace followed by anarchy, chaos, power and peace. We want to think that we are protected by our constitutional structure and rights. But when you think about it, those were written by and adopted by people. They could be rejected, ignored or rewritten and then everything is up for grabs.

The line between security and chaos is much thinner than we imagine. I do not know how all of this will turn out, but I do not need to. What we need to remember at all times is what Christ said. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (John 14:27) Later on in the same discourse Christ said, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

Now that’s worth thinking about.

Grace and peace,

Bob

Sunday’s text:  2 Samuel 23:8-39