March 13, The Unseen Is the Power

Many seek an audience from a ruler, but it is from the Lord that one gets justice. ~Proverbs 29:26

Everyone must submit to the governing authorities, for there is no authority accept that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what Got has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. ~Romans 13:1-4

Then Jesus told His disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said, “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, “Grant me justice against my adversary.” For some time, he refused. But finally he said to himself, “Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will se that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for His chosen ones, who cry out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? I tell you, He will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth.” ~Luke 18:1-8

Both the passages from Luke and Romans together, do a pretty decent job of illustrating the Proverb for today. We are dealing again with the reality that lies between the seen, and unseen realms.

First of all, there are earthly justice systems. Different countries have different systems, but Paul says that it is the Lord that has allowed them all to be put in place. That is so hard for us to comprehend, that God has ordained each of the governing authorities that are in place. We may be tempted to think that, if that is the case, why aren’t all governments like ours? Aren’t we the supposedly, “godliest,” nation on earth? Why isn’t everybody else like us if God is truly in charge?

We need to remember that God’s original idea for government, after the fall, was a Theocracy. That’s what God’s plan for Israel, God’s chosen people, was supposed to be. Israel rejected God’s plan. You can read about it in 1 Samuel 8, if you want to remember it better. The reality is that man has been rejecting God’s plan for rule, and coming up with their own ideas, ever since ever since the fall.

Israel started out as a theocracy. Their God was their king. But nobody could literally see the unseen God. And there were other governments in place all around Israel, that were ruled by kings that could be seen and have an “audience.” This is what got Israel attracted to human ways of thinking that drew them away from God’s best plan. They were wrong, the kingdoms around them were wrong and God has been overseeing our hunting and pecking throughout the ages and, fortunately for us, holding them in check as needs be.

All earthly governments have common threads running through them. If we were to plot out their cycle, it would generally run like this. There is one group already in charge. Someone is oppressed by that power, or at least believes they are. They think that they can do it better so they work at accumulating power of their own until they are able to overthrow the original power, put their ideas into practice, which are also flawed, and try to maintain their position until they themselves are replaced by another group who thinks they’ve got it right and on and on it goes. God allows it to happen. He allows us to continue to prove ourselves wrong, while He continues to guide and direct for His own purposes. You have to admit, it will be interesting to see man’s history from His perspective when we get to heaven.

So, God allows these certain authorities of man to run for a season, and through it all runs His cord of justice that is unseen yet has its way in the end. How does it work?

Paul and Jesus both lived under Roman authority. We’ve already heard plenty about how oppressive and cruel the Roman authority was. Yes, there were some statesmen among them, and some of our own government ideas, such as a body of rulers known as, the Senate, comes from Rome. There was a sense of justice among its citizens, but that justice did not necessarily apply to those Rome had conquered. Yet Paul tells us to pray for them because they are in place by God’s plans, for this hour. They are the visible power that can be seen.

Enter Jesus’ parable about a very gutsy, determined widow who seeks an audience with a ruler. In the Roman oppression of the day, Jesus’ parable would have been easily believed. From the seen world, the poor woman had no hope of success.

Then, the unseen appeared on the scene and the woman was vindicated from her adversary. “It is from the Lord that one gets justice.” We see court decisions and laws and think we are hindered because of what we can see. We must always remember that there is the unseen, who is more real than the temporary governmental system of man that we are under now. His justice will prevail, but we must never stop praying. The parable also gives Jesus the opportunity to compare God favorably with man. In an earlier parable, Jesus had compared God to an earthly father to say that our loving heavenly father is much better than a kind earthly father could be. (Matthew 7:9-11) Now Jesus is able to assure us that God’s sense of justice is also better than anything that we could imagine, but we must never stop praying!

I think that one of the reasons that I keep reading about our brothers and sisters in the persecuted church, who are enduring far worse governmental authorities and restrictions than I could even imagine is because, somehow, through their persecution, God prevails and receives the glory through their testimonies of faithfulness. I love learning about how God is moving, unseen, in situations that are seen to be so hopeless. We may need those testimonies of His faithfulness to lean on in our future. His justice will always prevail over the seen injustices around us. Our responsibility is to never stop praying, both for those in authority over us and for God’s justice to come quickly for us all.

Then, finally, there is the question that Jesus poses at the end of His parable: “However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” In other words, will His followers keep believing in His unseen even though the seen will tempt us to be discouraged and give up hope? Will we keep praying and seeking His face even though what we see tells us that all is lost? “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1) “Without faith is it impossible to please God, because anyone that comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6) That is the faith He wants to find on the earth, despite our seen circumstances.

Prayer: Unseen God, You are my True King! I thank you for gift of living in the USA, as opposed to any of the more difficult places in which I might have been born. And as I pray for my fellow believers in more difficult, less just societies, may I use my power, privilege and riches to bless and support them as much as I can. In Jesus' name, amen.

Song: A Mighty Fortress