Jesus said a very interesting thing in Luke 20:25, “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are Gods.” And later to Pontus Pilate, the governor of Judea, who claimed that he had authority over Jesus himself, Jesus responded….“You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above.”(John 19:11). Wow…God is at work. He saves the world through the person and work of Jesus, THAT’S THE MAIN MESSAGE OF THE BIBLE.

But to make sure that message “gets out” for all to hear…. God keeps the world civil, humane, just, and safe (outwardly) through people like Pilate. So God is at work in the world in two distinct ways….one to keep things civil, humane, just through His created orders of Family, Work, and Government….Or, as I like to say….God works through Fathers, Mothers, Businesspeople, and Leaders….broken and sinful as they are, He still works through them to prevent, chaos,  all Hell from breaking loose…..That’s God’s left hand Kingdom rule, His engagement to bless. Of course, that’s not the “good news,” the great news of His Salvation by grace through faith in the person and work of Jesus……But that “left-hand Kingdom work of God,” through even “relatively, moral” unbelievers is part of His work of blessing too.

When Christians engage the Public realm, full of philosophies, ideologies, and appetites emanating from sinful, broken people just like us…. we know that there is work to do to keep things sane, humane, just, and safe. But that work is part of God’s greater work to get the ultimate message of Christ out there for all to hear. Keep it safe, so the Church can speak. Keep it just, so chaos is kept at bay. Give us “rules to live by” in peace, so there can be opportunities to share a message of Grace over the fences of neighbors living side by side in peace. God’s ways, Two distinct ways,  Two Kingdoms, Two specific types of engagement, ONE MISSION…TO ULTIMATELY BLESS THE WORLD NOW AND FOREVER.