Part of the tragedy of mankind is that their kingdoms are neither their own nor Christ's. However much they strive for freedom, for perfection, for a Utopian ideal of society, they cannot achieve it but fall back defeated. If the nations had practised the Christian gospel of peace and goodwill to all men, they would never have experienced the horrors of war, of concentration camps or the cruelty by which men of power sought to solve their problems. They try to silence their critics and force everyone into a common mould of thought and action. The Twentieth century had much that is horrible and destructive. It was a time of dangerous apostasy in which God was denied, the Bible rejected and the technical skills of man exalted into an egotistic mastery of the elements.

Society has never presented a very pleasant picture to the thoughtful observer. Behind glittering facades has lain the ugly evidence of ruthlessness, selfishness and pride. Today it does not look any better. Those that love all things beautiful, noble and good must turn away with loathing and amazement at the readiness of men and women to fall for that evil one who leads the world captive at his will.

The world of men reflects little credit for all the skills, gifts and opportunities that have come its way. Where much is given much is expected. Some have done their best with highest motives. There is at the heart of mankind a love of goodness, a strong desire for better things; a battered rope of faith to which some still cling, hoping that it will bring them to their desired haven. While others have broken every rule in the book and defied Divine authority there is something about them that moves the compassion of God to save them in their extremity. They have been unwilling victims of evil, snared, deceived and half destroyed by foes too strong for them.

Looking upon the great scenario of human history as it unrolls from its idyllic beginning to its dramatic end, the spectator may be forgiven for asking 'why'? It was a question put by Israel to their prophet Isaiah. They too had cause to question their destiny in the roughness of their experiences, often forgetting that they brought about a lot of their troubles by ignoring the laws given to them, finding other gods and seeking more enticing pleasures in their worship. To them came the answer and the caution "Will the pot contend with the potter or the earthenware with him that shapes it? Will the clay ask the potter what he is making or his handiwork say to him, you have no skill?" (Isaiah 45.9 REB). The illustration of the potter's power over the clay is more than a question of ownership. It is utter dependence upon the will of another and submission to his choice. Either the vessel is to His liking and remains whole, useful and treasured, or it is flawed, broken down and remade into a better thing. Through the last of the prophets comes a rebuke, "You have spoken harsh words against me. Yet you say, 'How have we spoken against you?' You have said 'It is vain to serve God. What do we profit by keeping his command or by going about as mourners before the Lord of Hosts?'". (Malachi 3.13,14 NRSV). They saw the proud, happily enjoying the seats of the mighty, arrogant, high-minded and self-righteous. The criminal got away with his crime and the religious hypocrite prospered. Times change but human nature does not, nor will until that time is reached when all will be reversed. The same prophet saw evil and the consequences of evil consumed as stubble. Then would be seen the difference between the righteous and the wicked, for both would reap what they had sown. The just rewards of both would be seen as evidences that in the long run God has the final word. This last messenger had a word for the faithful remnant who do not waver but speak to one another of the things which warmed their hearts. They love God-honouring things which so delight His ear that he had a book of remembrance written before him, their names recorded, their lives precious to him were always before him. "They shall be mine says the Lord of Hosts in the day that I make up my jewels" (Mal.3.17). It is a dazzling prospect for the few, men and women more precious than rubies, unwaveringly faithful, polished and transformed by Divine wisdom in the harsh world of experience. They will shine like the sun, bright gems to be worn on the heart or the head of the all-glorious Majesty that created, owns and directs the destiny of man to His own appointed climax and conclusion.

Man cannot always fight with God nor will he want to continue his own way when at last the obscuring veils of ignorance are removed, when the scales are fallen from blind eyes and the goodness of God is seen in all its richness and benevolence. The real peace and happiness of man, his total wellbeing, lies in unity, harmony and appreciation of all that God is and does. Sooner or later, the lesson not learned readily, will be forced upon the nations by a humiliation and defeat that will never be forgotten. He who will not be ruled by the rudder must be taught by the rock. God is Master, Maker and Owner and not man. "I am the Lord. There is no other God beside Me. I have made the earth and created man upon it."

The statement is written in rocks, seas and stars, in the changing seasons, in the adaptation of man to the Earth and the Earth to man. Those who have already learned to trust their Maker, have ceased to question. They lean on His almighty strength. They love Him with all their heart, mind and strength. Their expansive love like His takes in all Creation. Reverence, respect, tolerance, forgiveness and reconciliation are the hallmarks of the children of God; the credentials of those who have been made ambassadors for Christ. They must go on to the end of this world, deploring its conditions and the inevitability of its crash. They must go on to the end of this life, however long or short it is, yielding themselves to God as those that are alive from the dead. Their outlook, thought, purpose, words and actions are under the control of the love and Spirit of God. He has begun the good work in the yielded life and will never let go until He has finished the work to the mutual satisfaction of both. It is a life of separation, of isolation from the world and ways of the world. The command is to "Come out of her and be separate". Paul also exhorted "Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness but rather reprove them." (Eph. 5.11). The open, honest, healthy life lived in opposition to the evils in the world is a wholesome contrast. To shun its brutalities, to avoid its intrigues, to make no compromise with its trickery, to maintain a moral soundness in the contagion of its sensual pestilence and the plague of its money-hunting, pleasure loving society is a silent rebuke to the self-seeker.

That has not always been enough. From time to time men of God have arisen to administer a strong rebuke to the wayward, to call a halt to the lack of justice, to censure bad behaviour, to hold a mirror before the false face displayed for truth. For lack of the moral courage to speak out many heedless young lives have been thrown away. So long as men have knowledge and love, to instruct, to warn and to win, they have the responsibility not only to live it but to preach the life-saving word. "Not with eye service as men pleasers but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart".

The end product of all experience is the will of God for man. The selection of the saints or the elevation of a chosen few from terrestrial life to a celestial inheritance is not all there is of God's Plan of the Ages. It takes in the whole race of man, erring and unworthy though they be. Jesus Christ gave his life a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. That clause makes provision for life, the continued life of man on the earth under better conditions and new management. The law will still be in operation, no longer in weighty tomes of judicial science, or graven on tables of stone but written on the tablets of the heart. It will be an essential part of his being, as close as breathing, as natural as any other of his senses, needing not the offices of priest or interpreter. The simplest will not be able to make a mistake, for "I will put my law in their inward parts and write it in their hearts, and will be their God and they shall be my people. They shall teach no man his neighbour or every man his brother saying `Know ye the Lord: `for they shall all know me from the least unto the greatest. I will be their God and they shall be my people. I will forgive and they will sin no more. (Jer. 31. 33-36). "Then will I turn to the people a pure language that they may call upon the name of the Lord to serve him with one consent." (Zeph. 3.9). Originally a forecast for unfaithful Israel the words apply to all people, since all nations, kindred and tongues will have been brought within the boundaries of the kingdom of God. The forecast implies a set time for such a change in the heart and mind of all peoples. Quoting these words the writer to the Hebrews gives the reason, "Now that which is decayed and waxes old is ready to vanish away." He saw the end of an era of tuition and the beginning of a new Age which is now itself in a state of decline, ready for removal that a better and nobler way of life may succeed the failures of the past.

Man sets out with a clean sheet, with everything to learn. Spotted, stained, torn, crumpled, written in blood and tears as that history book has been, it has been a story of increasing knowledge and maturity. The Earth will be filled with the knowledge and glory of God and every critical voice will be silenced and all tumults stilled. It will be the final triumph of love, the brimming fulfilment of the law to which all people will sing with heartfelt praise from the outermost bounds of heaven and earth. Then will the "kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever." (Rev. 11.15).

FAS

THE END