Glory

Re:Verse passage – Proverbs 14:34 (day four)

Our worldview in the West is so heavily individualistic that we often view salvation and repentance through that lens too. Yes, salvation and repentance are for individuals, but they are also for communities and nations. So much of what the Old Testament prophets address is about collective repentance and national righteousness. Daniel repents on behalf of the entire nation. Isaiah calls for the collective people of Israel to turn from their wicked ways. It seems almost impossible today in our modern, Western worldview that an entire nation could repent and turn to God. Yet, it comes up over and over again in Scripture.

So how do we move towards corporate repentance and righteousness? It’s more than standing on our religious high horse repeating, “America just needs to get back to God.” Yes, of course she does. But tropes won’t help us achieve that. It’s more than just politics and policies, though those are important.

I wonder if it starts with considering Jesus’ vision for us in John 17:22-23, “The glory which You have given Me I also have given to them, so that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and You loved them, just as You loved Me.”

The more we pursue and experience the glory and unity of life in the Spirit that Jesus describes in our homes, small groups, congregations, neighborhoods, etc., the more national righteousness seems possible.