And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him head over all things for the church… (Ephesians 1:22, NIV)
There isn’t enough ink for today’s headlines. Prime Minister to step down; Jeremy Corbyn to face confidence motion; pound slumps; Gibraltar question re-opened; shares dive globally; Scottish government proposes new independence referendum; shock grips European leaders… and so it goes on.
On a normal day, each would be front page news. But these all come at once as the aftermath of the UK’s vote to leave the EU. Some of the turmoil is bound to be short-lived; some of it is hype. But one also has a feeling of a political earthquake, in which many aspects of life which we have considered fixed will now change.
In the midst of such upheaval, it’s good to remind ourselves that the Head of the Church is also the Head of the world, as Paul says in Ephesians, quoted above. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS (Revelation 19:16). His is the ultimate sovereignty. Ultimate safety is found in Him.
He is the one who never changes – he is utterly reliable. The Bible, though written over 1400 years by lots of different writers, has one great story line: God’s plan for the world, worked out even in the midst of hugely turbulent times. The God of the Bible is unchanging and sticks to his plans.
Have you noticed the incidental references to huge events in the book of Acts? In Acts 11 we read of a famine, which swept the whole Roman world. In Acts 18, we read of the emperor Claudius’ edict that all Jews should leave Rome. And yet, at the very same time as all this, the gospel continued to go out. Let’s keep praying and working for that. It may be that the very shaking of many foundations is used by God to bring people to look to him for real security.
One last thing: the depth of feeling about Brexit is likely to increase, not decrease, over coming days, and we will witness many horrible things being said on both sides. Those of us who are Christians must have no part in dividing from each other on this issue. Our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20); that gives us a unity which transcends political issues, and a status no referendum can erase.
