The Scene is Grey

Esther 1

Stephen Crane wrote:

When the prophet, a complacent fat man,

Arrived at the mountaintop

He cried, "oh woe to my knowledge!"

"I intended to see good white lands,"

"And bad black lands,"

"But the scene is grey."

I think about that a lot as I look at the world around me, including the church. It isn't so much that the situation is so bad, it's just so grey. I'm going to blog for the next few days from the book of Esther because the situation then was similar to now. Esther lived in exile in Persia (modern Iraq). She was a Jew, but it is clear from reading the book that she had a ways to go in her devotion to God. In fact, one of the unique aspects to the book of Esther is that God is never mentioned. There are a multitude of explanations for this, but suffice it to say that even though God is not mentioned, we see his work all through this story. Here in chapter one Queen Vashti refused the king's request to visit his party and that set up the circumstances necessary for Esther to take her place. I don't know if this relates to anything in the current presidential race, except for this: don't count God out. That may seem trite, but consider that kings (and presidents) come and go, God remains. Jesus said "My kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36). The person you vote for in November may not get elected, but God is still in control. The person who gets elected may be a bad president, but God is still in control. The next president may only serve to increase the "greyness" of our country, but God is still in control. How can that be correct? It is so because even though God gives kings (and presidents) their power (Rom 13:1-4), he doesn't need them to do his work. God's kingdom is spiritual in nature and the work we do for his kingdom should also be spiritual in nature. Paul said in 2Cor 10:4,5 "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." Our effort should be directed toward being the best Christians we can be no matter who gets elected. We should engage in the process, that includes voting and dialoging with people, but we do so for the glory of God. We should pray for our leaders (1Tim 2:1,2), and for our country, but the change from grey to white starts with us. Stephen Crane was talking about morality. If we want our country to become moral, we need to be moral. Even better, if we want our country to be more consistent with Christian virtue, then we need to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit in all we do. I read all the time about how Christians are being put down and marginalized. I don't know if that surprises you or not (it shouldn't), but it should never fill you with fear. Read the book to the end: Jesus wins. He will return someday and justice will be restored once and for all.