I want to honor those who have fallen while protecting freedom around the world. I believe we owe more than we know to those who have given their lives to the cause of freedom. Let's make sure we all honor their bravery and heroism!
Several weeks ago, in a sermon entitled Sword vs. Cross, I argued that the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of this World (I don't mean the principalities of evil in a spiritual sense but just the governments of this world) are utterly different. In fact, I argued that they are basically the opposite. The Kingdom of this World is based on justice, coercion, and the sword. It is the Kingdom of Power-Over. The Kingdom of God is about grace, sacrificial love, and the cross. It is the Kingdom of Power-Under, the power of self-sacrificing love. And I preached that Jesus' mission, and as such, the mission of the Kingdom of God is not to take over the Kingdom of this World and force the agenda of the Kingdom of God on others through the tools of the Kingdom of this World.
Then, I discussed the dangers of fusing the Kingdom of the World and the Kingdom of God together. Some of you might have thought that I was a pacifist who does not believe in taking up arms or defending our country. That's not where I stand at all. Our military is an important part of the Kingdom of this World. It's essential. There are a lot of crazy rulers/terrorists out there. We need to defend our freedom and we honor those who have given their lives to the cause of freedom. The point I was trying to make is that two Kingdoms should not be fused together because Jesus didn't fuse them together.
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