Established by Blood

It plays out in gangster movies.  It plays out in North Korea.  It plays out in our history books.  Copious amounts of bloodshed in the establishing of a kingdom.

Political dynasties, whether legal or illicit, throughout history have rarely changed without violence in the absence of a very strong and well organized government i.e. the United States.  Most of the time a new kingdom means blood.

The book of 1 Kings opens with bloodshed.  Read it for yourself.  Solomon is one of two sons of King David that wants to be the next king.  Political maneuvers are made in chapter one until Solomon is declared Israel's third king by his father.  Then in chapter two David gives Solomon a charge that includes a hit list.  Solomon kills rivals to his throne and political enemies of his father. 

It's all rather bloody and more like Game of Thrones or The Godfather than we expect the Bible to be.  People are dead in the midst of a fatal game of ancient politics.

Chapter two ends like this:

"Then the king gave the order to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he went and struck Shimei down and killed him.  

The kingdom was now firmly established in Solomon's hands." 1 Kings 2:46

As I read this with my Bible study partner Noah Dodd, I wondered where the Gospel was.  I try to read every part of the Bible with my "Gospel glasses" on, but I'll be honest and say that I wasn't seeing it in these two chapters very much at all.

Then Noah saw it for me when he said (and I may be paraphrasing) this wonderful sentence:

"Solomon's kingdom was established by the blood of other people; Jesus' Kingdom was established by His own blood."

Yes! 

Jesus' Kingdom was established by His own blood.  Solomon ended the threat of rebels and potential rebels by shedding their own blood.  Jesus ended the threat of rebels by shedding His own blood to transform rebels into sons (Romans 5:10).  The blood of others established Solomon's throne for Solomon's brief lifetime and after his death the kingdom split.  Jesus' blood established His throne for His eternal lifetime and His Kingdom will never end.

Christ could have established His throne like Solomon, but instead He graciously died to make rebels into sons of the Father and brothers of the King.  Thank God that Jesus' throne was established by His blood today.

Joshua's Last Kiss

The other night as I tucked my son into bed I was flooded with emotion due to a thought.

I had just finished our nightly routine.  We had read a book, we'd read a Bible story, we'd prayed and we'd sung "Be Thou My Vision".  It was time for him to go to sleep.  Before I leave his room I kiss him and say, "I love you, Jesus loves you, close your eyes and go to sleep."  I do this routine every night that I'm home to put him to bed.

As I kissed him two or three times I had a thought.  This thought was not very pleasant despite the fact that I was enjoying putting my eldest to bed.

The thought was this: someday, sooner that I want, my son won't want kisses from his dad anymore.

I know my dad showered me with kisses just like I do with Joshua.  Joshua loves getting attacked with kisses.  He loves kisses on hurt spots.  He loves giving me kisses.  But all that will end.

I don't remember it very vividly and I'm not sure my exact age but I do remember my dad kissing me when I was in high school.  I remember him coming up and kissing me on my forehead.  I also remember thinking, "What on earth was that?  That was weird."

As I bent over and kissed my son in his bed, as I had the realization that Joshua kisses are going to end sooner rather than later, I thought of that weird kiss my dad gave me in high school and all the sudden it wasn't so weird.  How often will I look at my growing son and want to hold him, tickle him and kiss him like I used to?

I want my son to grow and mature into a man.  I don't want him to stay little, but I don't want to miss kissing my little boy.  I don't want to miss out on the unadulterated affections of his current age.

"Teach us to number our days aright,

that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:12

This verse is about the fleeting nature of life.  We simply don't live long.  And if the days of our lives are short, how much shorter are these days with our children!

Life with little ones is hectic.   It is exhausting sometimes.  There are times when bedtime can't come quickly enough.  Times when all we want is for them to be unconscious so we can sit down uninterrupted.  But the day is fast approaching when I'll look at that man who used to be my little boy and wish he'd say, "Daddy, let's snuggle" and I'd give him kisses until he giggled.

"Teach us to number our days aright,

that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:12

  

"This is the day the LORD has made;

let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

Lord, help us all, especially us parents, to number our days aright.  Help us not to miss out on the moments that we'll desperately want back later.  Help us to remember that the day that you have made for us to enjoy today is not yesterday or tomorrow but today.

The Blessings of My Homeland

I'm very happy I live in the United States of America. 

We're fresh off celebrating Independence Day here in my country and it's always a time to reflect.  I reflect on the many blessings of having been born in this nation and still living in this land.  There are a great many blessings from being a citizen of the United States.

I live in the land of, and have seen, the Grand Canyon, the Rocky Mountains, the Appalachian Mountains, Lake Michigan, the Badlands, the fertile soil of my hometown, the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, the caves of the Ozarks, and so many other amazing geographical sights.  I have seen the mighty cities and amazing landmarks made by man: the Gateway Arch, the monuments of D.C., the towering buildings of Chicago, and so  many other beautiful buildings.  I am thankful to live in such a beautiful place and have so much more to see.

I live in a land that affords me many freedoms including freedom of religion and speech.  I live in a country that has given me so many economic opportunities that I might not get in many other places in this world.  I am glad to live in a land abounding with positive opportunities.

I love living in the United States of America.  Could I live somewhere else happily?  Sure.  My sister lives very happily in Australia,  I have relatives that loved living in Switzerland, friends that adore life in New Zealand.  There are other great places to live in this world, but I'm glad to live in this place filled with its freedoms and beauty. 

I'm proud that the nation I live in is one that few emigrate from but thousands upon thousands wish to immigrate to each year.  I'm proud that many want to live in this place that many others spent time, energy and blood to cultivate into a place worth coming to.

My country is not a perfect place.  By no means is our past completely righteous.  By no means is our present completely righteous.  We can do better, but that won't stop me from reflecting upon the blessings God has granted me by being born to great parents in a great nation.

I did nothing to earn my citizenship in this country.  I was simply born.  Now, there are many this weekend who are earning their citizenship, but I didn't have to earn mine.  There are many desperately waiting and wanting to have what I did not earn. 

I did nothing my citizenship in this nation, just like I did nothing to earn my Heavenly citizenship.  With both citizenships comes many great blessings and many great responsibilities.  Whether you're American, Nicaraguan, Australian, English or Congolese we must look to count the blessings we have because of where God has planted us.  Then we must look to bloom where we are planted.  We must bear fruit and make our community, currently great or otherwise, a better place for others to live in and raise a family in while we as exiles wait for our better, Heavenly country.

Here is what Yahweh told the exiles in Babylon:

"Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.  Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters.  Increase in number there; do not decrease.  Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile.  Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper." Jeremiah 29:5-7

Christians, pray for your nation, count the blessings gained from being where God has put you and work to make your community prosper today.