We Don't Need a King

Over the recent holidays, I watched the Lord of the Ring Trilogy. It took me two days but I was glad to watch the three films together. It helped bring closure to the first two films.

In the first film a character called Boromir was intrduced. He was a son of an area in this ficticious loand called Gondor, a place of men. His father and his family were entrusted with the responsibility of stewardship of the kingdom until the true heir to the throne returned to claim his throne. The problem was the king had been gone so long and Boromir's family had been serving as stewards for so long, that the race of men in Gondor no longer expected a king nor in fact even wanted a king. They had been doing just fine without a king so in fact they indicate that they do not need a king. Those of you who have seen the movie will remember the scene well.

As I watched this scene unfold, I was struck hard by the parallel to our own day and times. Most people in our world are not looking for the return of the King of kings. In fact, they would agree with Boromir and his ilk that suggerst we do not neede a king. Before I lash out at such people, I am forced to ask myself a question or two.

Am I truly needing the King of kings in my life? Do I live my life in such a way as to be desperately seeking His reign in my life? Or, like the stewards of Gondor, have I usurped the right to rule on the throne of my life?

These questions I am pondering this day, and likely a few more days.

May God grant to me the desire to see His reign accomplished in my life each day.

Trent

God is not an American

Having lived overseas for more than 21 years I have come to the obvious understanding that God is not an American. I may have actually thought that as a youngster, I can't really remember. But clearly He is not an American. Nor is He Chinese, Russian, German, Bosnian or Macedonian. God is God. He is above and over nations and cultures.

Then why is it, I wonder, we tend to think that God is an American and supports everything American. Does our sense of "manifest destiny" still apply to todays American culture? Surely not! I cannot believe that God favors a country that heaps enormous amounts of selfishness and greed on itself while ignoring the genuine physical, emotional, spiritual and financial needs of its own people; let alone the millions that face abject poverty overseas.

Don't misunderstand me. I AM an American. And I am sometimes proud to be an American. But when I return to America after long stints overseas, I see America in a different light than I used to. I find myself wincing at the attitudes of Americans that "can't do" without 55" HD plasma televisions while at the same time ignoring the poor and disenfranchised.

I appreciate our freedoms and know that fredom is not free. I know all that. But surely we have exchanged our freedoms for a license to do whatever we feel like doing. THAT is what makes me know that God is not an American.

Trent