Suppose there was a king….a good king…who ruled over his land with both justice and mercy. Everyone knew him to be a good-hearted king, but he was strong on people who didn’t respect each other. His view of the law was that it was to protect everyone from everyone, and to reflect well on him as the kingdom provided an environment for happy, productive lives.
Now, suppose that kingdom had no paved roads…no interstates….nothing but dirt roads. The king decided to build a massive, state of the art system of roads. Interstates, four lanes…beautifully designed and built just the right way to just the right places.
The king made only one requirement. Everyone had to obey the traffic laws – including a 45 mile per hour speed limit. No exceptions. He knew that people were used to walking or driving very slow. He didn’t want them to lose “who they were created to be”….people….enjoying the journey.
Now, his subjects were smart, at least they thought they were.
“We can go faster than this!”
“Other countries have good roads and they don’t have to stay at 45 mph!”
“So you, king, know better than us? We can’t decide for ourselves how fast we want to go?”
The king was very deliberate. He said “Look, I built the roads. I bought all the rights of way. I paid for the whole shebang. So, I can make the rules on my roads. The speed limit is 45 mph. Furthermore, my son, the prince has driven every road in the country. He never exceeded 45 miles per hour…ever. So I know it can be done. We’ve installed webcams and speed meters all over the highway system. We will know EVERY TIME someone violates the speed limit. My son will be the police officer and the judge, since:
a) He’s “earned the right” to oversee violators by driving the whole system and never violating the speed limit and b) because he’s my son and I said so. Remember, I had no motive in building these roads other than to create a better life for everyone. And my motive for the 45 mph speed limit is to help everyone….to live a good life and to keep them from harm. To be consistent with who I am, there has to be consequences for violating that speed limit. Otherwise, people will kill themselves and miss the good life I wanted to help them have by providing these roads in the first place.”
Thoughts:
1. If the king created the road system, why should he not have the right to set the speed limit?
2. When people compare their rules to those of other kings, shouldn’t they also consider what else comes with the rules of those other kings?
3. When people object to the prince having complete authority over the roads and the justice system that protects them, they ask “Why are you the only way, the only “judge” that governs our use of these roads?” Isn’t it true that those who question the king’s right to do this are setting themselves above the king? They’re “ruling” on what’s right and fair from THEIR perspective, forgetting that the king owns the roads…they were built and paid for by him, fair and square.
Translated, you see why everything about our faith begins with God, the Loving King, the Creator and Owner of everything.
Our peace comes from our submission to God’s authority…to our trusting that He is good, that He loves us, and that all He’s done for us has been for our benefit.
Question : Have you given up your questioning of God’s authority to govern our lives?
by Regi Campbell
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