Just because the government makes a law does not mean it is right or good. The King ordered no one to pray to anyone but him. Daniel was not going to obey that law. The punishment? Anyone who broke this law would be thrown to the lion's den! In the time of Esther the King signed an edict that would allow anyone to legally kill the Jews and take their property for themselves. Both of these laws today were motivated by hatred. These laws were irrational, even cruel because someone had an agenda to take out someone else by any means necessary.
There are many Christians in America. Just like the Jews we have standards that we live by. God gave us the Holy Bible with instructions of his will and his commandments. To be a Christian is to follow Christ and to obey his Words, to partake of the Spirit and nature of God. There are people in our society that do not like the fact that our nation, and it's constitution was designed with a Christian foundation at it's roots. They would uproot the whole system just to get rid of the Christian influences that run through our nation even if it means tearing our nation apart to achieve that agenda.
Daniel faced legislation that went against his faith, and Esther did too. What did they do? They took a stand and obeyed God. In both cases the stand that they took turned the whole situation around. We cannot fight fire with fire, but we can obey God when it comes to our individual lives. Is it better to obey God or to obey man? When you have to make a choice it is better to obey God.
There have been many people in America that call themselves Christian because they pray to God, and they ask him favors. Yet they do not honor him by being obedient to His Word or allowing him control of their lives, or obedience to His Kingdom. When persecution comes those who are not loyal to God are going to fall away, and only those who have truly served him with all their heart, mind, soul and strength are going to be able to stand.
It is one thing to pray to God. It is another thing to be like Daniel and continue to pray when it will put your life in danger to do so. It is one thing to say you are a Christian. It is another thing to be like Esther and identify yourself with God's people when it would be unpopular and even lethal to do so. Make a commitment to stand for God today no matter what is going on the world. The laws of men do not change or altar the plans and will of God. Men's opinions do not dictate the Word of God. In the case of both Daniel and Esther, times changed, but God had not changed. They stood on the never ending principles of God's Word and that stand changed the world around them.
No comments:
Post a Comment