Day 211
1 Chronicles 7:1-9:1a, Romans 13:1-14, Psalm 89:38-45
"Submit yourselves to the authorities" can be taken one of two ways, the church authorities and the national authorities. We know that the early church was quite fragile because it was a new church, and so leadership in a number of places was an issue. Here Paul talks about taxes though, and so we see that it is much higher authorities that he is talking about. We have to admit that this is quite a difficult passage as we look at the news each day. There are people around the world rising up against the rulers of their countries and yet Paul says that we are to respect the rulers of the country for they have been established by God.
When we look deeper though, we might be reminded of all the rulers and kings that we have been reading about who were established by God, but then went off the rails. We might see similar rulers around the world now who have well and truly gone off the rails, who are not walking in the ways of the Lord. Let's be honest, it is a difficult balance to try and make, but it would be extremely hard to apply these words of Paul's to the authorities of today in some countries.
Love though is a very different story for love is after all the story of Jesus. Paul has a certain way of putting some things that manages to sum them up quite concisely (I say "some things", for other stuff he can be quite confusing). This is something that we have said ourselves when we were looking at the law and what Jesus said about the law. Basically, when we love people as Christ has loved them then we automatically keep the law, just by the nature of loving for we do not hurt them, kill them or steal from them. Love rules!
When we have difficult things to weigh up like the passage about rulers, then the first things we should mark it against is love. Look through the eyes of love and we might get a different viewpoint.
"Submit yourselves to the authorities" can be taken one of two ways, the church authorities and the national authorities. We know that the early church was quite fragile because it was a new church, and so leadership in a number of places was an issue. Here Paul talks about taxes though, and so we see that it is much higher authorities that he is talking about. We have to admit that this is quite a difficult passage as we look at the news each day. There are people around the world rising up against the rulers of their countries and yet Paul says that we are to respect the rulers of the country for they have been established by God.
When we look deeper though, we might be reminded of all the rulers and kings that we have been reading about who were established by God, but then went off the rails. We might see similar rulers around the world now who have well and truly gone off the rails, who are not walking in the ways of the Lord. Let's be honest, it is a difficult balance to try and make, but it would be extremely hard to apply these words of Paul's to the authorities of today in some countries.
Love though is a very different story for love is after all the story of Jesus. Paul has a certain way of putting some things that manages to sum them up quite concisely (I say "some things", for other stuff he can be quite confusing). This is something that we have said ourselves when we were looking at the law and what Jesus said about the law. Basically, when we love people as Christ has loved them then we automatically keep the law, just by the nature of loving for we do not hurt them, kill them or steal from them. Love rules!
When we have difficult things to weigh up like the passage about rulers, then the first things we should mark it against is love. Look through the eyes of love and we might get a different viewpoint.
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