The much-talked-about opening ceremony of the Olympics raises a question worth considering…
Why is the world so hostile to the truth of God and His people?
The answer is not hard:
God and His redeemed people stand in the way of fallen man’s desire to establish a kingdom without Him.
This is why King Herod, for example, sought to kill Jesus–he could not bear to have any rivals.
It’s also why the unbelieving world today seeks to rid its conscience of any notion of God and His truth.
It wants to overcome its greatest opposition…
Which is God Himself and those who faithfully follow Him.
The good news is God has already established His own kingdom when He bound the devil through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Today, His kingdom slowly advances through history.
The kingdom’s presence starts out as small as a mustard seed.
But it will eventually become like a mountain that fills the whole earth.
In the meantime, the world will take its stand against the Lord.
It will cast insults and persecute while it seeks to establish its pockets of hell on earth.
But in the end it will fail.
It has already failed.
Because God has installed His King.
And He is now ruling and reigning at the right hand of the Father.
Waiting for all His enemies to become a footstool for His feet.
So don’t let the hostility of the unbelieving world make you lose heart.
The day will come when all the earth will turn to the Lord.
And all the families of the nations will worship before Him (Ps. 22:27).
Until that day there will be suffering.
But let the assurance of His ever-expanding kingdom give you confidence in the place He has called you to serve Him today.
“Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end…” (Is. 9:7).