… so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:10,11)
Threats and Hope
Macbeth listens to three weird sisters (Shakespeare’s description) and is intrigued by their promises. He makes major important political decisions based on their forecast. For him, it does not end well. He listens to the wrong source of hope.
Even in our modern enlightened society, fortune tellers are popular because people want to know the future. Not only would such knowledge assist in financial decisions, but most of us would sleep better.
We tend to worry about the unknown parts of our future.
But Paul’s words here tell us a LOT about our future. Paul’s words tell us the most important thing that is going to happen. Paul’s words tell us the eventual end of any threat against Jesus’ people.
Jesus is going to win.
We face some serious threats. God’s enemies (the flesh, the world, and Satan) are very threatening. The vocal church today is threatened by legal actions, financial trouble, sinful habits, strong temptations, angry media, and an ever-strengthening centralized government.
But Paul is a true fortune teller. Better than the weird sisters.
He declares the hope that every knee shall bow. Some knees will bow joyfully… some knees will bow fearfully, and some knees will bow regretfully.
But every threat will fall.
Take the hope God grants us.