As we predicted last month, the lockdown has been extended now until the end of May. Spokane County will most likely be able to progress to phase 2 of the Governor’s reopening plan by the time you read this, which means that you’ll be able to get a haircut or your nails done and visit up to five people outside of your immediate family each week. Yay! Lucky you! Who will those five people be? Make sure you choose wisely because you never know when you’ll get the chance to see them again. And who would have thought that you wouldn’t have been able to get a haircut for two months because of a deadly pandemic? You just can’t make this stuff up.
I was reminded this week of what the early Christians prayed after Peter and John had been released from prison. After acknowledging God’s sovereignty and the resistance of the people to his rule, the early Christians quoted from Psalm 2: “Why do the nations rage and the people plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, ‘Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.’” This resistance to God’s sovereign rule culminated in their rejection, prosecution, and execution of God’s anointed servant, Jesus. And it also continued in leaders’ opposition to Jesus’ apostles, Peter and John.
The interesting point though is that the Psalm describes God’s response to the opposition he receives. The Psalm continues in verse 4, “He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, ‘As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.’” God laughs at the opposition he receives from the kings and rulers of the nations. This has prompted some to admit that God indeed has a sense of humor. He finds it funny that the most powerful people on earth try to resist and overthrow his rule. Nope. Ain’t gonna happen. He establishes his King in his place over his people in spite of their rebellion. And his people find comfort and courage in this truth when they receive opposition on Christ’s behalf.
I was also challenged by another passage this week. This one comes from 1 Timothy 2:1-6. The apostle Paul writes to Timothy and urges “that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quite life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.” Though those in “high positions” may resist God’s rule, he wants his people to pray for them (even give thanks for them!), so that his people may live peaceful lives which will pave the way for others to come to know and experience his salvation. The outcome of these prayers is peace and quiet, not uproar and strife. When was the last time you prayed, supplicated, interceded, and gave thanks for those in positions of authority? I find it much easier to criticize, condemn, slander, and threaten them. But when I remember that Jesus is the only true sovereign and I am altogether indebted to him, it becomes much easier to pray for those I may disagree with.
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