Finding God in the every day

Week 5 Day 2

Psalm 2 Why do the ^[a]nations ^[b]rage, And the people plot a ^[c]vain thing?
² The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together,
Against the Lord and against His Anointed,^[d] saying,
³ “Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us.”

⁴ He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision.
⁵ Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, And distress them in His deep displeasure: ⁶ “Yet I have ^[e]set My King ^f]On My holy hill of Zion.”

The patch image shown here was the type of identifying symbol used by German troops in Poland and Austria and elsewhere during the 1930’s and 40’s to provide quick access to the millions of people who were ultimately murdered by the insane regime of Adolph Hitler. This may not be familiar to younger readers. It is a symbol, to me of one of the deepest tragedies that the world has ever allowed to come to light. There have been, it may surprise you to know,  many others. Stalin is reputed to have killed as many as ten million people, Cambodian leader Pol Pot as many as one and a half million. These are but two examples out of many throughout history. In each case a scapegoat people were targeted to begin with, soon though any person or group the perpetrating regime found “inconvenient” became targets. It has ever been so. Since Cain and Able, the enmity that arises over real or imagined enemies soon arises to murderous rage.

              Most of the time we tend to shrug off the obvious implications of history. Today , however I write with a feeling of sadness knowing that such a time seems to be coming and there is little that can be done practically to prevent the madness which is looming everywhere we look. The true disciples of Christ during the times of Roman persecution the worst being under emperor Trajan (Yr. 108 AD) were no less difficult to round up than the Jews forced to wear the Star of David patch. They were evident to all by their refusal to worship the emperor with incense, their refusal to participate in the consumption and rituals of the pagan temples, and most importantly, they were identifiable by their deep love for one another in the bond of Christian love.

              As time spins toward what seems inevitable will we be so easy to spot among the “raging” peoples of the world? Even so, Lord Jesus come.