Where do you fit in God's cosmos?
Is tactical nuclear war on our forefront? I recently read a Forbes article detailing four ways that Russia could use its new tactical nuclear strike capacity in the present Ukrainian confrontation. Even though I have thoroughly read, understand and believe God's biblical promises of the coming Kingdom of God for all of humanity, I found the Forbes article disheartening.
In addition to my ministry serving in the United Church of God, I have been deeply involved with an organization called LifeNets, which has supported relief efforts for the children victims of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Like others, I have personally walked the still-radioactive streets of the city of Pripyat, just a short distance from the ruined Chernobyl reactor. When I read of a possible military nuclear "tactical" (whatever that really means) exchange in the Ukraine, I cringe. My immediate family is from the Ukraine, and I still have family members living there. That continuing crisis is very real for me.
Nuclear warfare in the 21st century is unthinkable. That fact that those two words can even be coolly used in a single sentence represents utter madness. When I hear them, I am relieved and profoundly grateful to read and know this tremendous truth: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
Of course we read this famous scripture in John 3:16. But continue on for a moment:
"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" (John 3:17).
Consider this interesting fact: The Greek word here for "world" is kosmos, which literally means "an ordered system." In modern English we have the related word "cosmos," which we traditionally take to refer to the broader universe. In the context of John 3:16, it is different. It refers to an ordered system of human beings—a society or extended family. The context is one that notes that the human "ordered system" will be changed into a God-directed system of righteousness, of an ordered system of government that truly cares and that preserves healthy relationships, an ordered system that includes the very children of God (1 John 3:2).
Where do you fit in God's kosmos—His "ordered system"?
When I read articles on the possibility of devastating nuclear war and the like, verses like these provide encouragement. God does not do things by accident. He does them decently and in order (1 Corinthians 14:40).
Is God concerned about the Ukraine? Here's some history that you may not have considered. God apparently has some special concern for the region, as the apostle Peter wrote his first epistle to "the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia" (1 Peter 1:1). These are all ancient nations along the Black Sea area and in modern-day Turkey. Ancient church writings also place the apostle Andrew, Peter's brother, in the region, and even directly in modern-day Ukraine. If the ancient reports are to be believed in Eusebius and elsewhere, Andrew even reached Kiev, some 1,300 miles from Jerusalem.
So I know that God cares about people living in the Ukraine. And I know that He cares deeply about you and me. According to the Bible God has a name for every star (Isaiah 40:26). All-powerful and all-knowing, He knows your name. And God knows where you fit in His kosmos, both now and in the future.
The Bible often speaks of the necessity of being able, as the apostle Paul wrote, to "prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Romans 12:2). Knowing God's will is knowing where one fits in God's "ordered system," the very kosmos of God.
With that knowledge comes real power—power to change, to overcome, to be able to withstand the trials delivered up by "this present evil age" (Galatians 1:4).
While I can grieve that world leaders can embrace the unthinkable, that they can tragically consider a radioactive outcome as somehow justifiable, I can also be greatly encouraged that God sent His very Son, Jesus Christ, that we might have access to the ultimate solution: eternal life in the Kingdom of God as a very child of God. Such knowledge and such conviction deliver us from fear and anxiety.
Are you wrestling with similar thoughts? I invite you to read our free Bible study aid The Gospel of the Kingdom. Either order a free copy or read it right now at www.ucg.org/booklet/gospel-kingdom/. Find out now where your place is in the kosmos of God.
P.S. Are you concerned and praying for people in disadvantaged places in the world, like in Syria, the Middle East and elsewhere? Share your stories with me at victor_kubik@ucg.org.
