The One True God

I just began reading a guide for one of my SaLT group studies. It is called "On the Prophets & Kings of Israel" and put out by Focus on the Family. I was just reading the introduction to the study and found an interesting statement, so I thought I'd share.



In the introduction, the author is giving a brief overview about God's relationship with His chosen people, the Jews. It tells the story of the Hebrew people being led to the Promised Land and how God was using them to work out the beginning of His plan of salvation. "The nature of God's covenant relationship with His people demanded a place where their faith could be exercised and displayed to all nations so that the world would know of Yahweh, the true and faithful God."



By New Testament times, the Jewish people had been removed from the Promised Land, mainly due to Israel's inability to live obediently before God. During this time in an effort to recommit to God, new patterns of worship developed and experts in the Law emerged. There was a new focus for the Jews, but the Promised Land was now home to many other groups of people. Did this change the mission of God's chosen people? No...the mission remains the same, they were to live so that the world would know that their God was the one true God.



The Promised Land was the area, the "crossroads" where major trade routes were, in which the Jews would live obediently and serve Him as the world watched. Unfortunately they failed in their mission.



The mission has since been passed on to Christians. The study guide then speaks of how Christians today still think of the Promised Land by spirituality the concept as presented in the Bible. "Instead of seeing it as a crossroads from which to influence the world, modern Christians view it as a distant, heavenly city, a glorious 'Canaan' toward which we are traveling as we ignore the world around us. We are focused on the destination, not the journey."



It goes on to explain how we, as Christians, have separated our spiritual walk with Him from our responsibility in the world.



I believe that in many cases this is true. I think we have given away our responsibility. In America, it has led to many horrible things. As the world changes around us, Christians for too long have remained silent. It is now taking its toll in the form of removing God from almost every aspect of American life and when that happens we end up with abortion, gratuitous sex and violence at the movies, on tv and in video games. We end up gluttons and a people without purpose. Great empires fall when they lose purpose. I read yesterday that a school in CA is banning the declaration of Independence! Is that not a sign of a nation losing its direction?



As I read the news I start to consider the possibility that as the Jews failed to remain obedient and uphold their part of the covenant, Christians are failing too, and just as the Israelites began to refocus their energies and reclaim their faith, I see the same happening with Christians.



I see Christians banding together and trying to change some policies and attempting to stop actions that would remove God from the Pledge of Allegiance in the United States, and other similar things. More Christians are becoming involved in governmental positions and are working to change policy. I also read in the news today that in Europe, over a million Christians signed a petition that calls for their Christian heritage to be recognized in the EU constitution.



Christians need to be faithful to God right now. We need to live by faith and be obedient to Him. The world is watching us in this place, at this time. Our mission today is the same mission God gave to the Israelites, we are to live obediently within the world so that through us "the world may know that our God is the One True God."