Ensign: The Only Good
All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye. Isaiah 18:3
AN ENSIGN ON THE MOUNTAINS 27 January 2017
The only good the Thirty Years' War accomplished was a negative one. It discouraged both Catholics and Protestants from ever trying it again. Henceforth they left each other in peace. This however did not mean that religious feeling and theological hatred had been removed from the earth. Quite the contrary. The quarrels between Catholic and Protestant came to an end, but the disputes between the different Protestant sects continued as bitterly as ever before.
(Hendrik Willem van Loon, The Story of Mankind)
This seventeenth-century series of European conflicts (the Thirty Years' War lasted from 1618 through 1648, and the treaty ending it set up our modern system of nation-states among other things) has spawned, I am sad to say, many imitators. Winston Churchill called the period from the start of World War I to the end of World War II (in Europe, 1914 through 1945) the Thirty Years' War of the twentieth century, and it would be hard -- well, it's hard for me to not argue that the War on Terror began, at least for the United States, with the September 11 attacks and could be our Thirty Years' War of the twenty-first.
I could be wrong, I'm no historian. I want to be wrong about that.
What pushed this week's Ensign to the front of the line before what I had planned to write about (and we'll get back to hidden objects, trust me!) was a note I read Wednesday about the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. It was set up six years before World War I began as an international Christian observance from January 18 to January 25 every year, commemorating from the Confession of Peter to Jesus "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Matthew 16:16) to the Conversion of Paul by Jesus in Acts 9. What bothered me was a note I read on a devotional calendar for January 25:
Conversion of Paul; Week of Prayer for Christian Unity ends
WHY would we not, as a church and as individuals, think unity was important for more than one week out of the year? Please understand here that unity does not mean uniformity; there is nothing in Scripture that forbids us from having a contrary opinion on a social or political issue. The people most often frightened of coming to Jesus as their Savior and Lord seem freaked at the prospect I find because of bad experiences they've had themselves in church or from people who are regularly in church, certainly not due to a lack of intelligence. Some of the most astute people I've ever met come from a church background.
And some that are dumb as a stump too.
Surprised I say that? Psalm 133 begins "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" There is nothing in here about everyone possessing the same degree of intelligence or skill -- carpentry is not my specialty, I assure you! -- and a family or a church or a nation would become useless very quickly if everybody tried to be everything. Consider Paul's analogies of the functions of people in church to parts of our bodies in 1 Corinthians 12 -- no one person can do everything or be good in all things. Very often we have only one good at a time.
And it doesn't have to be a negative one.
"Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, ..." Ephesians 4:3, 4:13, and Psalm 133:1 I quoted above are the only three instances in Scripture where unity appears. Perhaps it's not as desirable, as God-honoring, an attribute to have as some would have us believe? Or is it so special, like the only three appearances of Christian in the Scripture, that if you call yourself (yourselves) united, you'd best be able to back it up and back each other up in turn. Or is it a constant process, one this side of heaven we'll never quite achieve -- looking over the wording right now tells me that -- yet it's something to strive for, that it's GOOD to strive for?
Yes.
David
P.S. I will continue as long as God allows me to write this devotional to keep in touch with you, and I hope it encourages us too! If it's not or you would like me to get lost, please let me know. Thanks!
Thank YOU, Lord, that we can come to You in prayer and that we can count on You to provide for all our needs according to Your riches in glory, even when we don't know what our needs are. And we come to You in prayer for the peace of Jerusalem on both sides of the fence and all over the world.
Thank You as well, Lord, for everyone in leadership and service, in authority and power, both here and abroad. Thank You for the opportunities we have and the promise of new life through You by Your Son Our Brother, Jesus the Christ.
And now I pray that we all seek and have a blessed week! Amen.
AN ENSIGN ON THE MOUNTAINS 27 January 2017
The only good the Thirty Years' War accomplished was a negative one. It discouraged both Catholics and Protestants from ever trying it again. Henceforth they left each other in peace. This however did not mean that religious feeling and theological hatred had been removed from the earth. Quite the contrary. The quarrels between Catholic and Protestant came to an end, but the disputes between the different Protestant sects continued as bitterly as ever before.
(Hendrik Willem van Loon, The Story of Mankind)
This seventeenth-century series of European conflicts (the Thirty Years' War lasted from 1618 through 1648, and the treaty ending it set up our modern system of nation-states among other things) has spawned, I am sad to say, many imitators. Winston Churchill called the period from the start of World War I to the end of World War II (in Europe, 1914 through 1945) the Thirty Years' War of the twentieth century, and it would be hard -- well, it's hard for me to not argue that the War on Terror began, at least for the United States, with the September 11 attacks and could be our Thirty Years' War of the twenty-first.
I could be wrong, I'm no historian. I want to be wrong about that.
What pushed this week's Ensign to the front of the line before what I had planned to write about (and we'll get back to hidden objects, trust me!) was a note I read Wednesday about the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. It was set up six years before World War I began as an international Christian observance from January 18 to January 25 every year, commemorating from the Confession of Peter to Jesus "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Matthew 16:16) to the Conversion of Paul by Jesus in Acts 9. What bothered me was a note I read on a devotional calendar for January 25:
Conversion of Paul; Week of Prayer for Christian Unity ends
WHY would we not, as a church and as individuals, think unity was important for more than one week out of the year? Please understand here that unity does not mean uniformity; there is nothing in Scripture that forbids us from having a contrary opinion on a social or political issue. The people most often frightened of coming to Jesus as their Savior and Lord seem freaked at the prospect I find because of bad experiences they've had themselves in church or from people who are regularly in church, certainly not due to a lack of intelligence. Some of the most astute people I've ever met come from a church background.
And some that are dumb as a stump too.
Surprised I say that? Psalm 133 begins "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" There is nothing in here about everyone possessing the same degree of intelligence or skill -- carpentry is not my specialty, I assure you! -- and a family or a church or a nation would become useless very quickly if everybody tried to be everything. Consider Paul's analogies of the functions of people in church to parts of our bodies in 1 Corinthians 12 -- no one person can do everything or be good in all things. Very often we have only one good at a time.
And it doesn't have to be a negative one.
"Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, ..." Ephesians 4:3, 4:13, and Psalm 133:1 I quoted above are the only three instances in Scripture where unity appears. Perhaps it's not as desirable, as God-honoring, an attribute to have as some would have us believe? Or is it so special, like the only three appearances of Christian in the Scripture, that if you call yourself (yourselves) united, you'd best be able to back it up and back each other up in turn. Or is it a constant process, one this side of heaven we'll never quite achieve -- looking over the wording right now tells me that -- yet it's something to strive for, that it's GOOD to strive for?
Yes.
David
P.S. I will continue as long as God allows me to write this devotional to keep in touch with you, and I hope it encourages us too! If it's not or you would like me to get lost, please let me know. Thanks!
Thank YOU, Lord, that we can come to You in prayer and that we can count on You to provide for all our needs according to Your riches in glory, even when we don't know what our needs are. And we come to You in prayer for the peace of Jerusalem on both sides of the fence and all over the world.
Thank You as well, Lord, for everyone in leadership and service, in authority and power, both here and abroad. Thank You for the opportunities we have and the promise of new life through You by Your Son Our Brother, Jesus the Christ.
And now I pray that we all seek and have a blessed week! Amen.
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