Wednesday, October 27
Without a trace
Scripture: Daniel 1-2, Psalm 124, Mark 11
Daniel 2:35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.
Daniel 2:44 In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.
Observation
Daniel tells King Nebuchadnezzar his vision and its meaning. The statue represented earthly kingdoms, starting with the Babylonian kingdom. But a rock cut out not by human hands demolished the statue, reducing all human kingdoms to chaff that the wind swept away “without leaving a trace”! This rock was the kingdom of God, a kingdom that will end all human kingdoms and will itself never end, but endure forever.
Application
All earthly kingdoms will be chaff blown away “without a trace”! Nothing left. What a shocking reminder of the transitory nature of human kingdoms!
Human history is the story of human kingdoms and institutions that rise and fall. None of them are forever. All of them are temporary. But when they are at the zenith of their power, they think and act like they are eternal, like they will enjoy their status forever. In reality, they are destined to vanish “without a trace,” and the only thing that lasts forever is God and His kingdom.
This is why our political ideology must be subject to theology, why patriotism must be subject to faith. Nations rise and fall—and that includes our nation and every nation—but God is forever. Paul, echoing Daniel, says that when Christ returns, all earthly kingdoms will end, and God’s kingdom alone will last, and God will be “all in all.” (1 Corinthians 15:20-28). Our national identities, our tribal identities, our kingdoms all will be gone “without a trace.” There will be no Americans (or Russians or Chinese) in heaven—just believers from “every nation, tribe, people and language” (Revelation 7:9).
I am a patriot; I love our country. But I am a Christian first, and love God more. I am a citizen of another Kingdom, one that lasts forever. (Philippians 3:20-21). Like Daniel, who was a Jew living in Babylon, we are exiles, citizens of another kingdom living here. Our values and behavior must reflect our true citizenship. We must be Christians first, before being Democrats or Republicans or even Americans. Our theology must trump our political ideologies, which will one day vanish “without a trace.”
Prayer: Thanks Lord for this stark reminder of the transitory nature of our human kingdoms and institutions, and the eternal nature of Your kingdom! Help me to live as a citizen of Your kingdom today!