'Our God sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. Our God stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. Our God brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.'
The rulers of our world have their jobs to do. And as they meet for their summits, negotiate deals, challenge each other's behaviours and test each other's resolve, what they do is not unimportant or to be despised. And what they do affects lives - our lives, and the lives of millions of others.
But though some would seek to convince us otherwise, our world does not ultimately depend upon their decisions and decrees. At times, our landscape may be dominated by their decision-making and diplomacy, and everything may seem to hinge on the outcomes they achieve, but from God's perspective they are like insects on the ground; their reigns and rules just another passing season against the backdrop of eternity.
Thousands of years ago, another great earthly ruler send out his instructions; the economic demands of his Empire required a new tax regime. And as one vulnerable and powerless couple were forced to make a difficult, unplanned journey to Bethlehem, it would have been easy to despair and perceive of this as yet another example of how helplessly we are held in the grip of these power brokers.
But this journey was no mere accident or consequence of human coercion. Despite earthly appearances, this was a sign of God's purpose and concern. Though few could see it at the time, it declared that the schemes and plans of this world's empire builders are but small pieces in God's infinitely greater narrative.
Having paused to remember that journey, every journey that led to its beginning, and every journey it has inspired since, we see the present struggles of this world in a new light. We are stilled because we recognise again that the One we are invited to know, exists in altogether different dimensions. And within those dimensions our future and our hope lie.
God who reigns above all things, help me to remember that whatever we encounter in this world, is but a tiny fragment of your eternal reign and rule. AMEN
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