Of good policy making
In Galatians 4:4, it says that when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son...
The timing of Jesus' sending was indeed right. Between the book of Malachi and the book of Matthew, there was a period of around 400 years or so that God prepared the way for Jesus. Briefly speaking, by 6 B.C, the known world then was under Roman control and there was military peace around the land. Roads were built to facilitate transportation. And people then were unified by one language, Koine Greek. In fact, this means that anyone who carries the Gospel would be able to spread the message without need for translation and the fear for their lives in double quick time (by the standards then).
What struck me most when I was reflecting on these historical developments (what do you expect a historian to do) is that all these developments were governmental decisions for the purpose of governance and ruling. Little did Alexander the Great and the Caesars to come know, their policy decisions inadvertently provided the environment for the Gospel. Such is the sovereignty of God's providence.
And then I began to ask myself about our policy making today. Despite the fact that we are entering the last of the Last Days, this does not preclude policy makers (referring to those who proclaim Jesus to be their Lord and Saviour) from striving to make policies to benefit people, because just as our Roman history tells us, the policies we made may become providence for some other causes or people and it thus helps to bring people closer to God, whether they are believers or not. If they are believers, great. If they are not, it helps to draw them closer. I can't help but think that there may be a family in need of financial assistance and then come a government announcement on salary adjustment, and the increase in income was what they need to tide through the difficult time.
This helped me to realise the importance of good governance and policy making. Even more so is the importance of God's people within the government who have to make important policy decisions. We are God's servants first and foremost, even in this area of policy making.
The timing of Jesus' sending was indeed right. Between the book of Malachi and the book of Matthew, there was a period of around 400 years or so that God prepared the way for Jesus. Briefly speaking, by 6 B.C, the known world then was under Roman control and there was military peace around the land. Roads were built to facilitate transportation. And people then were unified by one language, Koine Greek. In fact, this means that anyone who carries the Gospel would be able to spread the message without need for translation and the fear for their lives in double quick time (by the standards then).
What struck me most when I was reflecting on these historical developments (what do you expect a historian to do) is that all these developments were governmental decisions for the purpose of governance and ruling. Little did Alexander the Great and the Caesars to come know, their policy decisions inadvertently provided the environment for the Gospel. Such is the sovereignty of God's providence.
And then I began to ask myself about our policy making today. Despite the fact that we are entering the last of the Last Days, this does not preclude policy makers (referring to those who proclaim Jesus to be their Lord and Saviour) from striving to make policies to benefit people, because just as our Roman history tells us, the policies we made may become providence for some other causes or people and it thus helps to bring people closer to God, whether they are believers or not. If they are believers, great. If they are not, it helps to draw them closer. I can't help but think that there may be a family in need of financial assistance and then come a government announcement on salary adjustment, and the increase in income was what they need to tide through the difficult time.
This helped me to realise the importance of good governance and policy making. Even more so is the importance of God's people within the government who have to make important policy decisions. We are God's servants first and foremost, even in this area of policy making.
Comments
Post a Comment