Immanuel

Daniel 7:13-14; Revelation 4:9-11

The theme of our VBS this year is to introduce the kids to some of the names of God. It’s a difficult topic and has led to some deep discussions about the nature of God. I have a group of kids who want to know more about Him so they can understand Him better. So far we’ve learned about Elohim – the Creator, El Elyon – the Lord Most High, and Immanuel – God with us (whom we know as Jesus).

The kids asked some hard questions while they were trying to put all these concepts together. One question we struggled with was how God can be everywhere. They looked around the field where we were gathered in groups under tents and tried to picture God standing in each tent. They clearly see Jesus with us, but how can He be with the kids in the other tents at the same time? God, of course, has revealed Himself in His creation and I was able to use air as an example of one thing being everywhere to help them understand. (Yes, one of the boys brought up molecules, but he got the concept.)

Then we went on to talk about God being in Heaven. God is in Heaven sitting on a throne, so is Jesus sitting on the same throne or does He have a different one? How can Jesus be the same as God when God was present as a dove at Jesus’ baptism?

Hard questions with no easy answers, but we all agreed that we can’t expect to completely understand God. After all, He’s God.

The throne question made me curious, so I looked up the verses I could find about the throne of God. Setting aside the imagery ones about the heavens and His people being his throne, I focused on the visions of Isaiah, Daniel and John. I didn’t really find any clarity (did I really expect to?) but one thing has emerged for me.

Jesus is the Son of Man who approaches the Ancient One. He has authority, honor and sovereignty and His rule is eternal.

Only God is sovereign and only God is eternal.

I may not be able to explain this very well to my kids because I don’t understand it very well myself. But I know that Jesus is God.

Jesus made me. He’s Elohim – the Creator.

Jesus is my Lord. He’s El Elyon – the Lord Most High.

And Jesus is with me. He’s Immanuel – God with us.

It makes me want to worship with the ones who lay their crowns before the throne. Jesus is worthy to receive glory and honor and power.

A Matter of Respect

1 Peter 2:17

I’ve heard people say, “If you want my respect, you must treat me with respect.” It seems to be a popular philosophy for making sense of relationships. I’ve even heard one person say that this is the Golden Rule. Actually, it’s the opposite. If the Golden Rule were put in terms of respect it would be, “I will respect you because I want you to respect me.”

But this verse goes further. It requires me to respect everyone, regardless of how they treat me or how I want to be treated. 

Respect everyone I encounter:

NO MATTER how they treat me

NO MATTER whether I know them

NO MATTER whether they are Christians

NO MATTER what kind of lifestyle they’re leading

To respect, according to Merriam Webster, is to give someone high or special regard. That means I should treat everyone as if they were special. I should recognize their worth as creations of God. I should accept them and be courteous toward them.

Respect is the starting point. My attitude should be nothing less than respect for everyone.

But God requires something more toward my Christian family. He wants me love all Christians because they are my brothers and sisters. The family gets respect and love. 

And then there’s my attitude toward God. He wants me to fear Him. If respect is the starting point, and love is the next step, then God gets both of those. But I should also stand before Him in awe at His mighty power. Like Job, I should put my hand over my mouth when He speaks and tremble in His presence like Isaiah did. 

Then the verse circles back to respect. Even though we’ve been told to respect everyone, it specifically tells us to respect the king. The king represents the governmental authorities. Specifically, I should respect the president, congressman and other elected officials. But I think God wants me to respect government in general. I should give authority high regard. God has instituted government for our good and no matter how much I disagree with the decisions of lawmakers, I should speak about them respectfully and recognize God’s sovereignty behind them.

This verse covers all areas of my life: Social, familial, spiritual and political. I should respect everyone I encounter in all these areas.

God simply doesn’t give me any excuse for picking and choosing who I will respect or for waiting for someone to deserve it.

Now That It's Over

1 Peter 2:13-17, Romans 13:1-5 

Being a Christian who lives in a democracy and enjoys politics isn’t easy. I have opinions about the issues that everyone’s talking about and I have the right and responsibility to choose candidates who support my position. I try to take positions that are pleasing to God and supported by scripture. But I have Christian friends who do the same and yet have very different positions. And I have non-Christian friends who think Christians are prejudiced and hateful. 

Now that the election is over, I have little doubt in which direction the country will be going on many of the issues I think are important. My friends and family are still talking and posting about them and I’ve been tempted to respond with my opinion, but it’s clear from scripture that my opinion is not what matters. 

These scriptures show the attitude God wants from His people, no matter what kind of government we have.

FEAR GOD

God is the ultimate authority. He is in control of His entire creation, including the country I live in. Rather than be afraid of my future (or my grandchildren’s future), I should fear God. He’s the One who decides our future. I should trust Him to care for me and those I love because He has promised that He will. Before I think about politics, before I worry about who’s in the Oval Office, before I decide who to vote for, I should bow before the Sovereign God.

RESPECT AUTHORITY

That’s a tough one. I have sometimes yelled at my car radio while listening to the news, and even called politicians names. There are plenty of them who have not only made scary decisions, but have also done despicable things. In my mind, they don’t deserve respect. But whether I like the people in power or whether they are honorable or worthy of respect, God says to respect them.

He has appointed them.

Who am I to question God? 

According to Merriam-Webster, respect is high and special regard. Holding the president in high regard means speaking about him positively. It means giving him the special attention I give to those I love most. It means praying for him.

LOVE MY FELLOW BELIEVERS

God not only wants me to be respectful of those in authority, He especially wants me to love other Christians. That’s a whole lot more important than who I vote for. In political conversations, especially the distant ones on Facebook, it’s easy to be negative and it’s easy to argue. So when I disagree with my brothers and sisters, I should do it lovingly. When I’m loving, the world will notice.

Government’s job is to make people do right and punish those who do wrong. If I do what is right and obey God, I have nothing to fear from government. 

Wait. When I look at history – or even at recent attacks on our religious rights – I see lots of times when Christians have had good reason to be afraid. But government is God’s servant.  

I may not like what is happening under our current leadership and it may get worse. But God has set our president and congressmen in authority. My response to that authority is to respect and submit to it. And more importantly, I should continue to love other Christians.