Today’s readings are 2 Kings 22-23, Psalm 73, and 2 Corinthians 5.
In 2 Kings 22-23, we read about King Josiah who took over as king of the southern kingdom of Judah at just the age of 8. Could you imagine? We don’t know a lot about his first 17 years of ruling, but we do know from these chapters that quite a lot happened in year 18. Not only did Josiah want to reward the laborers who had been working on the temple financially (which seemed to be a very nice gesture), but he then became very convicted about changing many of the terrible and sinful behaviors including worshipping of other idols not only across the land but even within the temple. After hearing the Book of the Law read to him (presumably for the first time after it was found in the temple), he not only became convicted of what was right and wrong, but he also took action to right what was wrong. And boy did he ever! I mean I can’t even hardly list all that he did and how he did, but I would encourage you to read these chapters to see. I’m picturing his words and action with the passion shown by Mel Gibson in the movie Braveheart after reading about what he did and how he went about it. It seems as though he would stop at nothing to fix things and turn Judah back to God which included not only removing the bad things, but also reinstituting the Passover which hadn’t been observed since the days the judges (2 Kings 23:22).
Reading these chapters and what Judah was doing against God’s Word almost makes the US seem like Candyland despite all the things our country is doing to turn away from God and His Word. Reading this also gives me hope that our country can turn back to God at some with the right leadership someday, even when it may seem way too far gone like I’m sure Judah did at the time.
What would you do if you were King Josiah? What would you do if you were the leader of the United States? Most importantly, what do you do now in your current roles at home, at work, and just as you go about your everyday life interacting with others? As a Christ follower, we should all pray for wisdom as to when to speak up and when to take action to point others back to God with the same courage and conviction that pushed King Josiah to do what he did.
Why? God doesn’t need us to defend Him or His name. But, Paul does state in 2 Corinthians 5:15 that…”He died for all that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Him who for their sake died and was raised.” If we are living for Him, we can take action because we are not fearful of what may happen or what others may think, and we are called to help lead others back to Him and His Words. Later in 2 Corinthians 5:20, Paul says that Christ followers are “ambassadors for Christ.” As Pastor Brandon Grant stated in discussing these exact verses this past weekend at Eastview Christian Church, an ambassador is a representative in a foreign land. Or another way of saying it is that we are no longer a citizen of this world but a citizen of Heaven where we act on behalf of the leader of where we are truly from and call home and this is God.
How do we do this? I don’t think it is to go to social media with more posts that may be more divisive than anything. And beyond that, I’m not sure. That is up to each of us to figure out in our daily lives, but I pray that each of us will ask God for courage to do so and wisdom as to how to go about it. We are told in 1 John 4:8 that God is love and if we abide in love then we abide in God and God abides in us. Jesus came and spoke truth in love, and when we have the conviction and courage do the same and to live for Him as Paul says we’re called to do we can make an impact in the lives of others to benefit them and His Kingdom.
