“A foolish faith in authority is the worst enemy of truth.”
This quote from Albert Einstein has haunted me for several days now. It seems as I grow older, and begin connecting the dots too often hidden for the sake of sustaining our institutions, I have become less trusting of the systems employed by the most well intended of men.
It seems that most of us humans would rather follow, than figure out the truth. Truth is about revelation and revelation comes through relationship, not with humans only, though there is wisdom in counsel. Religion seems a natural in an environment where the more charismatic and often well intended seize upon the masses for empowerment. In all likelihood the initial goal of institutional leadership is the common good, but our best intent is no match for the seductive benefits of being on the top of the heap.
“Leaders” then naturally gather those in common agreement, establish new rules and impose their new found authority on those willing to follow the truth, as they have been taught. The difficulty comes when that truth is blindly sought out through another. Mind you, this is dangerous territory, both for the one who challenges authority, and for the ones foolish enough to think that they alone hold some new revelation.
Probably what keeps us from total destruction is the faithfulness of our Creator, the Alpha and Omega, who somehow orchestrates the parade of leadership and authority sufficient to sustain our race. One of the most celebrated moments in history was the arrival of The Incarnate God, declaring a “flag on the field moment” so powerful, that for centuries the globe was marked by an A.D. moment! The G-d upon which we still attempt to platform Christianity, was in such contrast to the Christ, that religion could do nothing more than the prophets had declared. Yes, as far back as Moses and his lifting up of the serpent, the curse was suspended upon a tree! Calvary was inevitable.
Somehow the guilt of sin, our falling short of the mark of our high calling as Creatures of God, would require a sacrifice and our Father knew that. In fact, before the foundation of the earth, God was prepared to become the lamb later required by the very priesthood that would condemn the God they served! God became the ram caught in the thicket of religion! How he sustained His moment of entry is quite the mystery.
The narrative captured by prophets fearfully engaged in this same religion, so clearly salvages the stories.
“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you, one whose origins are from the distant past.” Micah 5:2 (NLT).
“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). Matt. 1:23 (NIV).
“I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me. My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death. Dogs surround me a pack of villains encircles me they pierce my hands and my feet. All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.” Ps 22:14-18 (NIV).
Yet in all that history past, God even preserved a moment for the long forgotten promise of Hagar, well before the powerful movement we are now observing among Muslims! God is on the move, though the people of God are mostly silo-ed within their various attempts at religion. At a loss for what to do to protect our truth, we bicker and even shed blood.
Meanwhile, The Ancient of Days, the Lover of all Mankind, is still faithful and finds a way to show up in the lives of those who earnestly and individually seek The Truth!
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