THE GOLDEN AGE OF AMERICA?

In his inaugural address on January 20th, President Trump said America is entering her ‘golden age.’ When Christians hear this, they should be soberly reminded that there is only one Golden Age and that is God’s eternal Kingdom, Jesus being the Eternal King. No earthly government, no human personality, no philosophy can bring in a golden age. That spot has already been taken. Of course creating an earthly golden age has been tried many times before and, I remind you, has always failed. Caesar couldn’t pull it off, neither could Constantine, or Charlemagne, or the Renaissance men of Florence. All these rulers did was lay a foundation for future misery. And aren’t we all who live in this age painfully aware of the promised one thousand-year golden age of the Third Reich? The election of Donald Trump does indeed herald a new direction, but not a new age. This is not the beginning of worldwide blessedness. No divine light ever shines upon the world with the election of any political figure. So for Christians to uncritically attach themselves to this star is a fatal mistake of epic proportions. For how can Christianity prosper if it attaches itself to something other than its life-source, Jesus Christ? Do we dare call it spiritual adultery? One must remember that Christianity is neither Republican or Democrat, conservative or liberal, carbon friendly or electric-friendly, open borders or closed borders. Christianity ever stands as the Tertium Quid, the third position, in every and any human culture war. And as the third position, it stands as a prophetic voice that speaks God’s words into every socio-cultural-philosophical movement. Sometimes it affirms a movement, sometimes it decries it, but Christianity never joins it. For such movements have one thing in common; they are all man-initiated, man-centered, and man-glorifying. Some indeed are better and some worse, but they all have man at the center. They are described by the Apostle John under the numeric code of 666, the religion of man that ultimately opposes the plan of God. As Christians we are to passionately pursue one agenda, the expansion of the one kingdom that matters, the invisible kingdom our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As Christians all our efforts are to be marshalled in that direction. This movement must never seek governmental help; in fact it must eschew it. Its target strategy is not to makes great changes in societal or political structures, but to change human hearts. The instruments the church must employ to effect this change will never be earthly governments, rulers, courts, social pundits, philosophers, board room members, or educators. Its instruments will always be the utterly despised preaching of a Savior who shamefully died on a cross and the administration of the sacred sacraments. And - get this -- it uses these means not from a posture of earthly power, but through suffering, prayer, and a humble spirit that is willing to play the long game of divinely inspired patience and weakness rather than the short term results of power mongering, agenda pushing, and raw human volition. So can Christians join hands with human government on any level? Yes and no. Yes, when that government rules righteously and fulfills its biblical mandate to protect its people, to punish evil, and to reward the good. No- vehemently no — when it aligns itself to a certain political ideology or party, or any other concoction of the human mind. The Christian church is never to look for an earthly team to join; it already has a team - or should I say a marriage covenant with her Lord Jesus. To align with any earthly movement is to invest in the wrong kingdom. St. Augustine many hundreds of years ago saw the fleeing masses from Rome pouring into North Africa. Their dreams were shattered. And now they must look elsewhere to find peace. That great bishop instantly recognized that the long touted ‘golden age’ of Rome was over; its promises of eternal peace had dissipated into thin air. Many of these citizens had been paid handsomely in short-term prospects only to find their pocket picked by the lies of golden age rulers and were left homeless… literally. And just like Rome, the promise of a golden age of America is but a vapor. Let us never forget that America is just another nation filled with sinners which will always gravitate away from God. And let us not forget that America was established by God for His eternal purposes and the dear fifty states will take their last breath when God decides to bid them adieu. Be assured of this, when America’s divine usefulness has expired her end will come, golden age or not. That does not mean America plays no part in the divine drama. She has played and I suspect will continue to play a huge part in Christ’s unveiling the scroll of history. But her history is chequered. She has done much good and propagated horrific evil. In this sense she is much like every other nation. So Christian, where does this leave you? You are to invest your life in the only kingdom that endures, a kingdom, as Hebrews 12:28 says, ”Cannot be shaken.” Your mandate is clear. Give yourself to the establishment of the real ‘golden age’ which presently lives among you in disguise, but will soon break forth into a dazzling glory never before seen among men. And when that kingdom is revealed you will see but one personage ruling, a Lamb sitting on a throne, that Lamb slain from the foundation of the earth. And it will be He who will rule all nations in righteousness and peace forever and ever. So live for this kingdom, dear Christian, a kingdom where moth nor rust can corrupt nor where thieves can break in and steal. The Golden Age of Jesus is already here and it will only get better. Live for it and it alone.