"In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." Jesus
The question of safety is one we all face daily. You get in your car, and what's one of the first things you (supposedly) do? Put on your seat belt. Very likely, your car has been tested repeatedly for safety things like impact. You probably have air bags to keep you safe in an accident. And safety takes on even bigger impact in other venues. You go to the airport and have to empty your pockets and walk through scanners, all in the name of safety.
Now, I don't want to downplay the importance of safety to us as humans. We want to be safe. In fact, our safety is one of the needs of life, rather than a want. It's hard to ever be calm or focused if you don't feel safe. Think about people you know who live in dangerous situations. They are very stressed, they may not sleep, and it causes a lot of problems for them. Safety, to some degree, is a need for our human lives.
God recognizes this, which is why we have Him establishing the governing authorities. One of their roles is the safety of those over whom they have authority. That is their God-given responsibility. And yet, the presence of sin in the world also means that safety in this world is a fleeting thing. To put it another way, we could have a police officer in every classroom in the U.S., but one sinful person bringing a gun to class puts the people in that classroom into danger.
Does God take our safety seriously? Yes. However, is our safety God's ultimate priority in this world? That's where I would venture to answer, "No". God's primary purpose for us is to be found in Him, in Jesus, so that we inherit the perfect world in which issues of safety are non-issues. While God wants us to be safe in this world, He also wants us to know that, even in times when we aren't safe, we are still in the blood-stained hands that purchased us, hands which have prepared an eternal, safe kingdom for us to live in forever.
I think we have a duty to teach this to one another, but especially to our children. Legislation will not bring about ultimate safety. Sure, it might eliminate a few threats, but the threat of sin never goes away. Our ultimate safety lays in the fact that we are in the nail-pierced hands of Jesus, and nothing will ever take us away from those hands.
The question of safety is one we all face daily. You get in your car, and what's one of the first things you (supposedly) do? Put on your seat belt. Very likely, your car has been tested repeatedly for safety things like impact. You probably have air bags to keep you safe in an accident. And safety takes on even bigger impact in other venues. You go to the airport and have to empty your pockets and walk through scanners, all in the name of safety.
Now, I don't want to downplay the importance of safety to us as humans. We want to be safe. In fact, our safety is one of the needs of life, rather than a want. It's hard to ever be calm or focused if you don't feel safe. Think about people you know who live in dangerous situations. They are very stressed, they may not sleep, and it causes a lot of problems for them. Safety, to some degree, is a need for our human lives.
God recognizes this, which is why we have Him establishing the governing authorities. One of their roles is the safety of those over whom they have authority. That is their God-given responsibility. And yet, the presence of sin in the world also means that safety in this world is a fleeting thing. To put it another way, we could have a police officer in every classroom in the U.S., but one sinful person bringing a gun to class puts the people in that classroom into danger.
Does God take our safety seriously? Yes. However, is our safety God's ultimate priority in this world? That's where I would venture to answer, "No". God's primary purpose for us is to be found in Him, in Jesus, so that we inherit the perfect world in which issues of safety are non-issues. While God wants us to be safe in this world, He also wants us to know that, even in times when we aren't safe, we are still in the blood-stained hands that purchased us, hands which have prepared an eternal, safe kingdom for us to live in forever.
I think we have a duty to teach this to one another, but especially to our children. Legislation will not bring about ultimate safety. Sure, it might eliminate a few threats, but the threat of sin never goes away. Our ultimate safety lays in the fact that we are in the nail-pierced hands of Jesus, and nothing will ever take us away from those hands.
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