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Serving With Love

By Angela Wittman

"I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep."

(John 10:11-13, KJV)

"In A.D. 390, a riot occurred in Thessalonica and the Roman Governor, Botheric, was killed. Theodosius, the Roman emperor at the time, invited the people of the city for games and entertainment in the Hippodrome and then had 7,000 of them slain.

Ambrose, the Bishop of Milan, rose to the role of the good shepherd ready to lay down his life for his sheep. He wrote to Theodosius and told him to publicly repent for the evil he had done. Roman emperors were not in the habit of humbling themselves, and Theodosius refused Ambroses' demand. That set the stage for the high drama that ensued.

As Theodosius attempted to enter the church he attended, Ambrose literally interposed himself between Theodosius and the entrance (and hence the people, the church). Ambrose clearly believed that the emperor was under God's law and should humble himself and serve that law. By the grace of God, Theodosius yielded. He stripped himself of his imperial insignia, entered the church and publicly called upon the Lord to forgive his sin in the matter. The good news kept coming - Ambrose became an unofficial counselor to Theodosius and was thus in a position to have a hand in rewriting Roman law to provide for what we now call due process. Ambrose believed, and happily Theodosius concurred, that the law of God is over the king because the King of kings of every realm is King Jesus who has the nations of the earth as His inheritance.

What a shock to those of our time who incorrectly claim that there is a constitutional separation of church and state. Ambrose was clearly not functioning as a magistrate, but he did instruct in a very conspicuous fashion his head of state. Moreover, when the magistrate became beast, Ambrose exposed him for what he was. What a boost to the prestige of the gospel in the eyes of the people. Do the people of our time get an equally vibrant view of the crown rights of King Jesus?"


(Interposition:Lawful Resistance to Tyranny by Larry Pratt, Executive Director of Gun Owners of America)

Dear Friends,

I recently attended a public meeting of one of the local governing bodies in our community in which I was so very discouraged by the behavior of some of the men elected by local voters to represent us as public servants.

Some of these elected officials made snide remarks, while others mocked and showed blatant disrespect for a local business man who also happens to be a Christian.

How my heart aches for the man who has had to endure such public shame! (Some of you may remember the contempt shown to me when I served on a local school board and advocated a return to our traditional Christian teachings in the government schools.)

This local business owner was shown the same type of disrespect and ridicule by those elected to shepherd or serve the community.

I feel compelled to write this editorial in hope that those reading it will remember that in order to lead, you must first know how to serve.

And how much better it is for those serving to do it as God pleases rather than as man pleases!

I pray that the badly behaved elected officials will know who I am referring to and they will make a conscious effort to behave with dignity and true humility in the future as they represent a large segment of our local population and that they will no longer set a bad example as leaders who appear to lord their position over others and treat others discourteously.

I also pray that when we go to the voting booth in the future, we will cast our ballots for Christian Statesmen that have shown they will lead us with courage, commitment to true patriotism, and have based their lives on the Word of God.

Only when we vote for such a high caliber of a candidate will we once more see public servants truly serving with love and in righteousness.

How can we turn back the tide of evil that is sweeping across our land, evidenced by murder, rape, theft and ever the increasing violations of human rights?

Only by electing "shepherds" with a Biblical worldview.

Dear friends, we must no longer accept the false notion that we must vote for the "lesser of two evils"! There are men and women of high standards who are more than willing and qualified to hold public office. Perhaps you know of someone that you believe displays the honorable character required of a leader or you may even be that person. If so, then let us be bold and step out in the faith of our LORD and support not the "lesser of evil" any longer but the best Christian man or woman for the task of serving us.

I encourage you to get involved by attending local government meetings, contacting your legislators and then speaking what is on your mind.

Let us no longer look the other way when we see abuses by those elected to public office to serve their constituents.

May the good LORD bless us as we boldly stand with Him in righteousness and all truth! Perhaps He shall even be so pleased as to give us "shepherds" who will serve us with LOVE.

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Originally published in 2003.

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