13 August 2020 Two Jurisdictions
Luke 20:25-26 NLT
“Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.” So they failed to trap him by what he said in front of the people. Instead, they were amazed by his answer, and they became silent.
Jesus’ response establishes the limits, regulates the rights, and distinguishes the jurisdiction of the two empires of heaven and earth. The image of princes stamped on their coin denotes that temporal things belong all to their government. The image of God stamped on the soul denotes that all its faculties and powers belong to the Most High, and should be employed in his service. (Clarke Bible Commentary)
There is an arrangement between myself and my government that involves my wallet. There is an arrangement between myself and God that involves my whole self. My wallet is just a small part of my entirety. Another Bible commentator says had the Jews rendered unto God His due, they would have never had to render anything to Caesar. (Guzik) What an amazing truth!
We supposedly do not have a king where we live. But there’s an arrangement between us and our government, and it’s on ME to remember that in the Ven Diagram of life, my wallet is just a small and temporary subset of the whole circle that makes up me. My whole life (including the wallet) belongs to God. Obedience to Him affects what I do, what I say, where I go, and how I respond to authority. I can freely give the government what it is due according to our arrangement, but they do not get all of me because I do not belong to them no matter what they think.
While we live in this temporary world, there will be restrictive arrangements, but I choose to believe and behave like the faithful people mentioned in Hebrews 11. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
(Hebrews 11:13-16 NLT)
I am sooooo looking forward to the city God has prepared for ME. With no taxes!
Dear God,
Thank you that what is going on in our country today is temporary. It may never get put back right, and that will also be temporary. Money is temporary. Political posts are temporary, and so is a pandemic. Thank you for being eternal with true and actual power and authority over everything. Give us wisdom to navigate troubled times, and thank you for the Joy of Jesus in the midst of it all. I love you and I just can’t thank you enough for my future home with YOU, and I pray in Jesus’ name, amen.