I have never really been much of a person that watches the news on a regular, daily basis, whether it be local, national or international, it just has never seemed to be that relevant in my personal life. There have been times of course when at least some attention was given to the news of the world, for in some small way what had happened would affect not only me, but many others, say for instance the calamity of what happened in the United States in September of 2001. Not only was another war started because of this action, but the transportation industry was changed forever. The news seems to take second place to very little else in the lives of people around the planet, which strikes me as odd, for it changes, each and every day, and so a constant following is required, and expected.
How many people will tune into an eight-day weather forecast, every day, a local news broadcast at 5pm, 6pm, and again at 10pm, any national news network station and what they try to inform you is ‘important’ today, or better yet, what their sponsors are telling them is necessary for you to hear and see. How many of our brothers and sisters in Christ can tell you almost all of the local and national news of the day, but next to nothing about the Book of Jonah except that he was swallowed by a big fish, much less what Paul’s main reason for writing to the Galatians was.
What got me thinking about all this was a conversation my lovely wife and I were having about the circumstances that the children of Israel were in at the time that our Lord Jesus was walking this earth. It was indeed a time of great turmoil for them, for many years they had been under the iron hand of the Roman Empire, to a degree they were allowed some freedoms, but as with any peoples that are under the bondage of the authority of another nation, true freedom as a nation was something they no longer knew. Because the “burden” of the Lord Gods commands seemed to great for them, once again He allowed and enabled a foreign nation to enter in and dominate nearly every avenue of their daily lives, and to top it off, the religious hierarchy had been subjugating the peoples lives with man-made rules and obligations that were in themselves a great burden upon them.
The pressing, continuing news of the day was nearly always the same, try to stay out of the way of the Romans and in compliance with the hundreds of laws and regulations placed upon them by the religious leaders. When our Lord appeared on the scene, of course now there was new news, a magnificent leader had appeared, ( John 1:1-5) a man who seemed to control even the very forces of nature itself, (Mark 4:39) a man of incredible wisdom, talents and compassion, and many thought, here is the one who will deliver us from the bondage of oppression that the Romans have laid upon us. The news spread fast. If you will search the Scriptures, you will find many times the words and thoughts of those that wondered not just if the Messiah was in their midst, but if now was the chosen time of God to free them from Roman rule, and re-establish the nation of Israel to its former glory.
Christ was the news of the day, and like much of the news that is considered ‘news-worthy’ enough to reach our eyes and ears today, it only matters if it concerns us, or if it gives us something to talk about around the watercooler or at the local coffee shop, now known as social media. And therein lies the main topic of the conversation between my wife and I, when could we recall the times that the Lord spoke in length about the rule of the Romans over the children of Israel, and the answer is rarely. Luke 20:25, Matthew 17:27, are two, but because our Lord was not so concerned with the temporal, though in a sense because of the continuous needs of the people, and his indescribable compassion for them, it may seem like it, but His thoughts were nearly always fixed on the eternal. Our Lord had one message, one news-worthy event to tell, and all those that have come to the understanding that He was, and is, the Way, the Truth, and the Life knew and know what the only message that held any relevance was.
To those who believed in His name at that time, it did not matter anymore that the Romans held rule over them, it did not matter what the weather would be, for the Lord is Lord not only of every nation, but also of the weather. They knew the Good news and all the other news became secondary.
Think back my friends, let us say just over the last three months, beyond personal events in your own life or in the lives of those you love, what news on social media, the television or even the radio that you heard over this small period of time was so life altering that it has consumed the vast majority of your time, what has happened that was so important that every waking moment you thought about it, you spoke to all that you met about it, what news has changed the very core of your being, or has it all just been forgettable small talk. What in the temporal has taken your mind off of Christ and the eternal, are you more concerned with the local news or the Good news, (Isa. 61:1-3) do you desire to check the weather more frequently than you do on whether or not your neighbor knows Christ, are you listening to what the press says is important, or do you daily feel the pressure and prompting of the Holy Spirit in your life, do you heed the call of the advertisers, or are you advertising for Christ through your examples and words.
Let’s be honest here, what’s in your hands more, your Bible or your cell phone.
The Lord on that day is not going to question you on anything that had nothing to do with the Kingdom of God, but we will most definitely be questioned on how we used the time He has so graciously allotted to us. Stop seeing the temporal, needless things of this world as important, there is enough evil in each day (Matt. 6:34) without overly concerning ourselves with either it or tomorrow.
Let those who care not for the things of the Kingdom of Heaven seek and be consumed by the things of this world that will not last, we should be doing exactly what we have been commanded to do, to seek the Kingdom of God first, (Matt. 6:33) and spread the only news worth hearing, the good news of Jesus Christ.
