Heaven on Earth?

Have your read Psalm 72? If you haven't, please do. If you have, read it again. It's a prayer that God would give the king (the royal son) righteousness and justice so that he might rule righteously and justly. As the prayer unfolds, the existence under his righteous and just reign is longingly expressed: the oppressor is crushed, the poor and needy are defended, and even the land produces in abundance under his stewardship. His rule would be "like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth." All authority would be yielded to him as "all kings fall down before him, all nations serve him." And why? For "he delivers the needy when he calls, / the poor and him who has no helper. / He has pity on the weak and the needy, / and saves the lives of the needy. / From oppression and violence he redeems their life, / and precious is their blood in his sight."

The psalm is attributed to Solomon, David's son. He clearly had a vision for what it would mean to have a righteous ruler on the throne. Unfortunately, it was not realized in is reign. In truth, his idolatry led him far away from this ideal and after his death it was acknowledged that his vanity had put a "heavy yoke" upon those he ruled. Solomon's successor was counseled to "be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants forever" (1 Kings 12:7). That advice was a fitting summary of the psalm that Solomon had penned. Alas, Solomon did not follow it. Nor did his successor, Rehoboam.

I think it safe to say that no ruler has ever fulfilled this vision. Whether monarch, dictator, president, or prime minister, no one has ever succeeded in engineering heaven on earth, no matter how noble his or her intentions. There is only one king that has ever graced the Earth who is capable of achieving this longed-for existence. He is the one who confronts us on Palm Sunday. He it is who ushers in the Kingdom of Heaven with his humble entrance into Jerusalem. 

But it must be noted that the full realization of a perfect human existence under the rule of our benevolent King awaits the consummation of the age. Only when the new heaven and earth are manifested will we completely experience the promised peaceable kingdom. Till then, we await him and pray with the faithful, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus!" (Revelation 22:20).

Standing Firm

I know you’ve experienced it. You’re standing among non-Christians, you may or may not know them, when the topic of Christianity comes up. A disparaging or inaccurate comment is made about Christ or his church and you debate within yourself, “Should I say something? I don’t want to get into an argument. I certainly don’t want things to get ugly. Should I speak up? If I do, what will these people think?” Whether we open our mouths or not, the mere fact that we have an internal debate indicates our awareness that in many circles possessing faith in Christ is not a résumé enhancement.

Feeling marginalized due to our confession of Christ is an increasingly common phenomenon. It’s a form of persecution (albeit a mild one). And the more one gets pushed to the margins, the more one feels that holding fast to that which is prompting the persecution is futile. The pressure to abandon the faith increases. But the abandonment does not take so blunt a form as cursing Christ and being done with it. It’s subtler than that. It’s leaving out the bits that cause problems. It’s majoring on issues that are palatable to the opposing populace. It’s trying really hard to blend in. It’s engaging in unilateral compromise.

The theological drift is always toward liberalism. Feeling its exclusivity and holiness the tendency is to substitute comfort food for the robust fare of the Bible. The result, succinctly described by H. Richard Niebuhr, is a message that challenges and changes no one: “A God without wrath [brings] people without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross.”

As the pages of Scripture attest, the pressure to yield our confession of faith has always plagued the church. The writer of Hebrews famously instructs his readers to “hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering” (10:23). When Paul writes the believers in Philippi he feels compelled to exhort them to “[stand] firm in one spirit, with one mind” as they strive “side by side for the faith of the gospel . . . not frightened in anything by your opponents” (1:27-28). Recall Peter in the precincts of Pilate pushing aside any notion that he was somehow associated with Jesus; then the rooster crowed prompting bitter tears (Matthew 26:75). I’m not sure what form it will take for us beyond what I’ve pictured above, but we shouldn’t be surprised if we run up against stiff opposition. The challenge will be to stand firm, striving for the faith of the gospel.