God's Way of Changing the World
Heather and I have been reading Scripture Union's Encounter with God for years. It's a daily devotional that takes us through the New Testament twice and the Old Testament once in a five year cycle. Today's reading is Hebrews 11:32-40, the last portion of the "hall of faith" which reads like a who's who of Old Testament characters: Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel. Their military and governing accomplishments are impressive. But others suffered mocking and flogging, imprisonment, stoning, being sawed in two, death by a sword. Even those who were mighty "were made strong out of weakness." The SU writer comments: In western democracies, one notable way to influence society and promote your values is by mobilizing a large voting block that can have a significant impact on elections. Christians, in pursuit of their values, may go that route, too. But our passage today describes a radically different approach for influencing society. Instea...